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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda Fire Pension 041714 PLEASE NOTE: Should any interested party seek to appeal any decision made by the Board with respect to any matter considered at such meeting or hearing, he will need a record of the proceedings, and for such purpose he may need to insure that a verbatim record of the proceedings is made, which record includes the testimony and evidence upon which the appeal is to be based. In accordance with the Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990, persons needing a special accommodation to participate in this meeting should contact The Resource Centers, LLC no later than four days prior to the meeting. THE RESOURCE CENTERS , LLC 4360 Northlake Boulevard, Suite 206 Palm Beach Gardens, FL 33410 Phone (561) 624-3277 Fax (561) 624-3278 WWW.RESOURCECENTERS.COM PALM BEACH GARDENS FIREFIGHTERS’ PENSION FUND Special Meeting of Thursday April 17, 2014 Location: City Hall, Council Chambers Palm Beach Gardens City Hall 10500 North Military Trail Palm Beach Gardens, FL 33410 Time: 2 PM AGENDA 1. Call Meeting to Order 2. Public Comments 3. Approval of the 9/30/2013 Audited Financial Statements: Cherry, Bekaert 4. Other Business 5. Next Scheduled Meeting: Wednesday May 7, 2014 @ 1PM 6. Adjourn April 8, 2014 Cherry Bekaert LLP This representation letter is provided in connection with your audit of the financial statements and supplemental schedules of City of Palm Beach Gardens Firefighters’ Pension Fund (the “Fund”), which comprise the statements of fund net position as of September 30, 2013 and 2012, and the related statements of changes in fund net position for the years then ended, and the related notes to the financial statements, for the purpose of expressing an opinion as to whether the financial statements are presented fairly, in all material respects, in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States (U.S. GAAP). Certain representations in this letter are described as being limited to matters that are material. Items are considered material, regardless of size, if they involve an omission or misstatement of accounting information that, in light of surrounding circumstances, makes it probable that the judgment of a reasonable person relying on the information would be changed or influenced by the omission or misstatement. An omission or misstatement that is monetarily small in amount could be considered material as a result of qualitative factors. We confirm, to the best of our knowledge and belief, as of April 1, 2014, the following representations made to you during your audit. Financial Statements • We have fulfilled our responsibilities, as set out in the terms of the audit engagement letter dated November 6, 2013, including our responsibility for the preparation and fair presentation of the financial statements. • The financial statements referred to above are fairly presented in conformity with U.S. GAAP and include all other financial information required by generally accepted accounting principles to be included in in the financial reporting entity. • We acknowledge our responsibility for the design, implementation, and maintenance of internal control relevant to the preparation and fair presentation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error. • We acknowledge our responsibility for the design, implementation, and maintenance of internal control to prevent and detect fraud. • As part of your audit, you assisted with the preparation of the financial statements and related notes. We have designated an individual with suitable skill, knowledge, or experience to oversee your services and have assumed management responsibilities. We have reviewed, approved, and accepted responsibility for those financial statements and related notes. • We understand that as part of your audit, you prepared the adjusting journal entries necessary to reclassify investment activity. We acknowledge that we have reviewed and approved those entries and accepted responsibility for them. We are in agreement with the adjusting journal entries that you have proposed and they have been posted to the Fund's accounts • Significant assumptions we used in making accounting estimates, including those measured at fair value, are reasonable. • Related-party relationships and transactions have been appropriately accounted for and disclosed in accordance with the requirements of U.S. GAAP. • All events subsequent to the date of the financial statements and for which U.S. GAAP requires adjustment or disclosure have been adjusted or disclosed. • The effects of all known actual or possible litigation, claims, and assessments, if any, have been accounted for and disclosed in accordance with U.S. GAAP. • Other matters that legal counsel has advised us that must be disclosed have been properly disclosed. • Material concentrations have been properly disclosed in accordance with U.S. GAAP. THE PENSION RESOURCE CENTER, LLC 4360 Northlake Boulevard, Suite 206  Palm Beach Gardens, FL 33410 Phone (561) 624-3277  Fax (561) 624-3278  WWW.R ESOURCECENTERS .COM • Financial instruments with concentrations of credit risk have been properly recorded or disclosed in the financial statements. • Guarantees, whether written or oral, under which the Fund is contingently liable, have been properly recorded or disclosed in accordance with U.S. GAAP. Information Provided • We have provided you with: o Access to all information, of which we are aware, that is relevant to the preparation and fair presentation of the financial statements, such as records, documentation, and other matters. o Additional information that you have requested from us for the purpose of the audit. o Unrestricted access to persons within the Fund from whom you determined it necessary to obtain audit evidence. o Fund instruments, trust agreements, insurance contracts, or investment contracts and amendments to such documents entered into during the year, including amendments to comply with applicable laws. o Actuarial reports prepared for the Fund and the Fund’s sponsor during the year. • All material transactions have been recorded in the accounting records and are reflected in the financial statements. • We have disclosed to you the results of our assessment of the risk that the financial statements may be materially misstated as a result of fraud. • We have no knowledge of any fraud or suspected fraud that affects the Fund and involves: o Management, o Employees who have significant roles in internal control, or o Others where the fraud could have a material effect on the financial statements. • We have no knowledge of any allegations of fraud or suspected fraud affecting the Fund’s financial statements communicated by employees, former employees, participants, regulators, beneficiaries, service providers, third-party administrators, or others. • We have no knowledge of any instances of noncompliance or suspected noncompliance with laws and regulations whose effects should be considered when preparing financial statements. • We have disclosed to you all known actual or possible litigation, claims, and assessments whose effects should be considered when preparing the financial statements. • We have disclosed to you the identity of the Fund’s related parties and parties in interest and all the related-party relationships and transactions of which we are aware. • The Fund has satisfactory title to all owned assets, which are recorded at fair value, and all liens, encumbrances, or security interests requiring disclosure in the financial statements have been properly disclosed. • We have no— o Plans or intentions that may materially affect the carrying value or classification of assets and liabilities. o Intentions to terminate the fund. • Amendments to the fund instrument, if any, have been properly recorded or disclosed in the financial statements. • We have no knowledge of any omissions from the participants’ data provided to the Fund’s actuary for the purpose of determining the actuarial present value of the fund’s benefit obligations and other actuarially determined amounts in the financial statements. TO: FROM : SUBJECT: DATE: CITY OF PALM BEACH GARDENS MEMORANDUM City of Palm Beach Gardens Firefighters' Ref ement Trust Fund Board Allan Owens, Finance Administrator GASB 681nformation Request April17, 2014 The City of Palm Beach Gardens is currently preparing for implementation of Government Accounting Standards Board ("GASB") Statement 68, which must be implemented in the City's fiscal year beginning October 1, 2014. As you know, this new standard will require substantial additional disclosure of certain pension fund data in the City's financial statements. One of the most important disclosures deals with the investment return assumption. In order to prepare the required footnote regarding the discount rate, staff is respectfully requesting the target asset allocation weight and expected rate of return for each asset class. This is similar to information that will be required when the Board implements GASB Statement 67, which substantially changes the presentation of pension plan financial statements, and must be implemented in the fiscal year ending September 30, 2014. An illustrative example and format of the information requested is as follows: **ILLUSTRATIVE EXAMPLE** City of Palm Beach Gardens-Sample Footnote Disclosure Investment Return Assumption Using Building-block Method Firefighters' Investment Allocation Expected Return Domestic Equity 51% 7.75% Foreign equity 9% 7.75% Domestic Bond 24% 2.76% Foreign Bond 3% 2.76% Real Estate 7% 7.00% Cash 6% 1.95% Total 1000/o 6.00% I With this information, we will be able to begin preparation of pro-forma financial statements, footnotes, related schedules and other disclosures, for inclusion in the City's financial statements beginning October 1, 2014. In order for the City's consultants to move forward with their GASB 68 implementation project on a timely basis, I am respectfully requesting this information as soon as possible, but no later than May 16, 2014. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me. Page 2of2