City announces annual audit to be done by BDO

BDO will be taking a look at the City of Portage la Prairie books to make sure nothing's out of the ordinary.

The City will be getting audited so they can be sure that nothing needs special attention before getting the audit sent to the province to keep as information. City councillor Joe Masi says these annual audits are required by the Manitoba Government.

"This is our first audit process as this council," mentions Masi. "We're looking forward to a good result from it, hopefully."

He adds the council works with BDO on this audit since it was the cheapest tender offer that was offered to the City. The audit from BDO costs roughly $40,000. Masi says the city selected BDO to run the annual audits a number of years ago, but they might not hold onto the service past this year.

"(The tender) will be coming up, I believe it will be coming up actually next year again," explains Masi. "It's awarded on the basis of what they're going to do and what the cost is. Generally, we would pick the lowest bid on behalf of the City of Portage la Prairie."

He notes that the reason the City holds these tenders is to ensure that they have a competitive price for their audit services.

Masi says the Canada Community Building Reserve Fund, formerly known as the Gas Tax, which has been responsible for funding projects such as the causeway, would not be available to the city if the audit is not submitted.