County reviews 2025 audit report

By John Watson Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Wheatland County has completed its audit of the 2025 financial year, being described by Reeve Scott Klassen as having kept the standard of financial reporting at a high.

The audit was completed based on the terms of an engagement letter, dated Dec. 2, beginning with interim field work performed during that month. 

This included an inventory count, Dec. 20. Year-end filed work took place between Feb. 27, through to the end of March. 

“It is a clean audit report which is good; it is an unmodified audit report. That is the same as it has been in years prior, and the same again this year,” said Cam Lorac, partner at MNP LLP. “It means nothing came to our attention that would lead us to believe the financial statements are materially false or misleading.”

The county was deemed to be within its debt limit which is set by the Province of Alberta, as well as disclosed the salaries of council members and designated officers as required.

The county’s net financial assets decreased to $18.9 million at year end, which was noted to be primarily driven by $29 million in capital asset additions throughout 2025. 

“Whenever I look at a municipality, the first thing I always want to look at are … net financial assets, and then accumulated surplus because net financial assets essentially represent your liquidity and your accumulated surplus represents essentially the equity that you have built up within the county,” said Lorac. “If we were to take all the value of your assets, all the value of your cash, less all your liabilities, that is essentially what that represents.”

He also noted the county is feasibly able to continue functioning regularly for a period of three to six months should revenue suddenly cease – a position of healthy financial stability. 

Due to a demand installment loan which was used to fund the Goldfinch water project, the county’s long-term debt saw a notable increase. Additional funds were pulled from portfolio investments in order to aid in financing the project.

Net property taxes and user fees such as water and gravel usage were noted to be higher than in previous years. Conversely, the cost of goods and materials decreased in 2025 due to fuel, oil and asphalt prices being lower than originally anticipated.

Addressing concerns raised by Coun. Berle Hebbes regarding gravel use, Lorac explained the county hires firms to survey gravel sites on a rotating basis. The results of these surveys are then used to inform procedures when reviewing gravel pits.

The county’s operating activities generated approximately $6 million in cash through 2025 which aided in the purchase of a number of assets.

The full scope of the audit results is publicly available online through the county’s website and April 7 meeting agenda.