We have significant and varied experience in performing auditing and management consulting engagements with small and medium size governments throughout the state of Georgia. 

Governments are one of the largest single industries contributing to the overall United States gross domestic product (GDP).  Governments are routinely thought of as "cities" and "counties", but included in the "governmental" industry classification are a nearly infinite number of statutory governments formed by national, state, and local governmental bodies.  All of these governments have unique or specific functions and immense regulatory requirements.  As a specialized body of knowledge, governmental accounting and auditing is one of the most intensely regulated and promulgated industries within the practice of accounting.  Governments even have their own rule-setting bodies such as the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB), Office of Management and Budget (OMB) regulations, and the General Accounting Office (GAO).

We at CLHP understand the significance of quality service that is provided timely and at a fair price.  Our long-standing approach to professional engagements is to ensure that we offer our clients, when needed and desired, services beyond that merely contemplated at the onset of the engagement.    We can provide assistance and training regarding accounting and auditing pronouncements, audit risk alerts, newly adopted and proposed regulations, and assistance with understanding compliance requirements unique to each governemnt. 

Some of the services we offer our governmental clients include:

• Independent audits.  The core of our governmental services has always been in the performance of the independent audits required of governments.  Our firm is a member of the American Institute of Certfied Public Accountants (AICPA) Governmental Audit Quality Center.  As part of that commitment to quality, we require our applicable principals and professional staff to undertake continuing education, beyond that which is mandated by OMB, to ensure we are continually current on emerging issues and standards in the governmental sector.  We have assisted our clients in obtaining the prestigious Certificate of Excellence in Financial Reporting Award from the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) and currently have multiple staff members serving as reviewers for the GFOA in the program.  
  
  Presently, we provide independent audits to approximately 60 governmental entities.  With such a diverse and long-tenured client base, we have streamlined our governmental auditing practice in an effort to provide the highest level of service possible to our governmental clients with a focus on efficiency and effectiveness.  CLHP is a mid-size regional firm with Georgia offices located in Macon and Warner Robins.  The firm is large enough to have available the experience and resources to provide excellent service to our clients and yet is small enough to permit the personal service and partner access that is rarely available from larger firms.
  
• Financial statement preparation.  Governments are more and more commonly utilizing the services of another CPA firm, in addition to their independent audit firm, to perform accounting and consulting services that might otherwise adversely impact the independence of the finanancial statement auditor.  The financial accounting and reporting requirements for governments and compliance with ever increasing auditing standards has led governments to utilize external accountants to prepare their financial statements.  Our experience with varied governments and constant training on the evolving accounting standards is a crucial element to ensuring the accurate preparation of governmental financial statements.
  
• Fraud investigations.  Unfortunately, governments are just as prone to fraud risks as any other enterprise -- perhaps an even greater risk.  Governments have a duty to the public to investigate possible frauds and to report on them.  Our firm specializes in forensic accounting and fraud review and is able to provide these services to governments as an aid in discerning if a fraud has occurred or to determine the extent of the losses and the manner in which the fraud was conducted.
  
• Interim financial management.  Governments, like all businesses, occasionally have vacancies in its finance department whether it be staff accountants or the finance director.  We have experience in serving as interim finance directors of small and medium size governments.  Utilizing the outsourced opportunity will permit the government to perform an extensive search for the best replacement for their finance director while still maintaining the routine accounting functions.  As an added benefit, by becoming immersed in your accounting and control systems, we will be in a good position to help you interview personnel and to make recommendations to control and procedural enhancements.
  
• Management consulting.  We can assist governments with many accounting and management issues such as utility billing, fund management, software training, budget preparation, segmented accounting in areas such as courts and law enforcement, and a variety of other areas common to governments.
  
• Internal audits.  Smaller governments often do not have the necessary resources to deploy an appropriate internal audit function.  For those clients for which we do not perform independent audits, we can provide an outsourced or ad-hoc internal audit of various aspects and departments of the government.  Along with our reporting, you will receive the added benefit of recommendations to supplement internal controls and other management advice from the perspective of an experienced independent auditor.
  

Governmental accounting and auditing is a very complex and specialized field that warrants the use of experts.  Please contact us to speak to one of our experts to see how we can help you with your governmental accounting needs.