Commissioners Court approve $35,000 additional auditing fees to Martinez, Rosario & Company, LLC
By: Jose G. Landa, Copyright 2014
The Maverick County Commissioners Court held their monthly regular meeting on Monday, May 5, 2014, at the Commissioners Courtroom at the Maverick County Courthouse located at 500 Quarry Street in Eagle Pass, Texas.
Among the items on the Agenda was the approval to authorize Maverick County Judge David R. Saucedo to accept and execute an engagement letter change order for fiscal year ending September 30, 2012 with Independent Auditors Martinez , Rosario & Company LLP. The agenda item was open for discussion.
Maverick County Legal Counsel Poncho Nevarez explained that this change order would change the completion and delivery of the final draft reports and dates for the 2012 County Audit.
County Commissioner Roberto Ruiz then raised concerns due that these changes are going to cost thousands of dollars more than what was already paid to Martinez, Rosario & Company LLP. “It baffles me how we continue to get into more financial problems. This is $35,000 and let the record show that this engagement letter is a change of order due to conditions of records, material weaknesses internal controls by the County Auditor. When is it going to stop? I just want the record to show why we are paying much more money, $35,000 more,” said Commissioner Ruiz.
County Judge David R. Saucedo stated that this was something that had been agreed to by the Commissioners Court.
Judge Saucedo then addressed Legal Counsel Poncho Nevarez asking him if the new terms and language of the new engagement letter in the change order was being addressed if the court so desired to go in that direction.
Nevarez replied that in fact he had been in contact with Luis Rodriguez of the County Auditor’s office to assure that the deadlines and time frames coincide with what is important in terms of what’s needed. They know what those dates are and will include them in the new engagement letter, “added Nevarez.
The agenda item to compensate Martinez, Rosario & Company, LLC the amount of $35,000 for a change order of its auditing work for the 2012 County Audit was then called for a vote and it was unanimously approved by Commissioners Court.
An engagement letter with change order is a basic agreement between the auditing firm and its client that states the terms and conditions of the engagement, principally addressing the scope of the engagement and the terms of compensation for the firm. The change order is work that is added to or deleted from the original scope of work of a contract, which alters the original contract between the parties.
