Financial Audit Services

Seattle City Light, the City of Seattle's municipal electric utility, is seeking an independent audit firm to perform the annual audit of its financial statements for each of five fiscal years, 2027 through 2031. The utility's financial information lives in the City's PeopleSoft enterprise resource planning system and its subsystems, with much of the supporting record available electronically so fieldwork can be performed remotely or on site as the firm proposes. For each year the auditor must issue an opinion on whether the financial statements are fairly presented under generally accepted accounting principles, conducting the work under Generally Accepted Government Auditing Standards. The firm delivers separate audit reports under generally accepted auditing standards and government auditing standards, including the report on internal control over financial reporting and on compliance. Audited statements must reach the utility's Controller by April 30 of the following year to satisfy bond covenants, and a management letter identifying opportunities to improve internal control follows by May 15. The auditor also confirms compliance with bond covenants and requirements in the City's bond resolutions and ordinances, reviews the draft Annual Report and supplementary schedules within a week of receipt, attends entrance and exit conferences with utility management, Internal Audit, City-wide accounting leadership and the State Auditor, and presents results to the City Council committee overseeing the utility each spring.