Press release:
Mostert, Manzanero & Scott, LLP, presented a summary of the audit process undertaken and the scope of their engagement, as well as the findings and various observations related to the Genesee County Economic Development Center’s financial position at an open meeting of the GCEDC Board on March 30, 2014.
The GCEDC Board engaged Mostert, Manzanero & Scott, LLP, a certified public accounting firm, to perform the audit of 2014 financial statements. The audit was designed to issue an opinion on the financial statements of the GCEDC for the year ending December 31, 2014, a management letter to the Board of Directors and management and a report about internal control over financial reporting in accordance with Government Auditing Standards.
Included in the management letter is a statement from Mostert, Manzanero & Scott, LLP, affirming that no material deficiencies in internal controls were identified during the audit. They also affirmed that, in their opinion, the audited financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the GCEDC as of December 31, 2014, in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States.
“I am confident that the GCEDC internal control policies are functioning correctly and that our finance team monitors the finances in accordance with the highest accounting principles,” said Steve Hyde, president and CEO of the GCEDC. “GCEDC CFO, Lezlie Farrell, who is a Certified Public Accountant, does an outstanding job monitoring all of our agency procurement and financial activities."
The financial statements of the GCEDC are reported using the accrual basis of accounting. Revenues are recorded when earned and expenses are recorded at the time liabilities are incurred, regardless of when the related cash transaction takes place. For example, expenditures are recorded in the period that services are provided, even though corresponding payment for those services may not be made until a later date.
The GCEDC finished 2014 with a net operating loss of $14,990 as compared to a net operating loss of $198,403 in 2013. As expenses remained consistent overall in 2014, revenues from project fees were significantly higher in 2014 as compared to 2013. The largest project in 2014 was the Yancey’s Fancy project. Yancey’s began construction on their 112,000-square-foot facility in the Buffalo East Technology Park, located in Pembroke, NY, in the spring of 2014. Overall, Yancey’s Fancy will invest more than $20 million and create 50 new jobs at the facility.
“The GCEDC budgeted for a loss of $175,000 for 2014 and I am pleased with our year end results,” said CFO Farrell. “At the end of 2014 there were several attraction projects in the sales pipeline that still remain active today. We anticipate that one of these major attraction projects will close in 2015 and bring significant investment and jobs to the region."
