CliftonLarsonAllen LLP
CLAconnect.com
Honorable Speaker of the House of Representatives
and the Honorable President of the Senate
Commonwealth of Massachusetts
We have audited the statement of available resources and expenditures – statutory basis (financial
statement) of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts’ Joint Accounts of the Legislature for the fiscal year
ended June 30, 2022, and have issued our report thereon dated September 4, 2024. We have
previously communicated to you information about our responsibilities under auditing standards
generally accepted in the United States of America and Government Auditing Standards, as well as
certain information related to the planned scope and timing of our audit in our statement of work dated
November 7, 2023. Professional standards also require that we communicate to you the following
information related to our audit.
Significant audit findings
Qualitative aspects of accounting practices
Accounting policies
Management is responsible for the selection and use of appropriate accounting policies. The financial
statement is prepared on the Commonwealth of Massachusetts’ statutory basis of accounting, which is
a basis of accounting other than accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of
America. The significant accounting policies used by the Joint Accounts of the Legislature are
described in Note 1 to the financial statement.
No new accounting policies were adopted and the application of existing policies was not changed
during 2022.
We noted no transactions entered into by the entity during the year for which there is a lack of
authoritative guidance or consensus. All significant transactions have been recognized in the financial
statement in the proper period.
Accounting estimates
Accounting estimates are an integral part of the financial statements prepared by management and are
based on management’s knowledge and experience about past and current events and assumptions
about future events. Certain accounting estimates are particularly sensitive because of their
significance to the financial statements and because of the possibility that future events affecting them
may differ significantly from those expected. There were no accounting estimates affecting the financial
statement which were particularly sensitive or required substantial judgments by management.
Financial statement disclosures
Certain financial statement disclosures are particularly sensitive because of their significance to
financial statement users. There were no particularly sensitive financial statement disclosures.
The financial statement disclosures are neutral, consistent, and clear.
Difficulties encountered in performing the audit
Our audit was significantly delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Honorable Speaker of the House of Representatives
and the Honorable President of the Senate
Commonwealth of Massachusetts
Page 2
Uncorrected misstatements
Professional standards require us to accumulate all misstatements identified during the audit, other
than those that are clearly trivial, and communicate them to the appropriate level of management.
Management did not identify and we did not notify them of any uncorrected financial statement
misstatements.
Corrected misstatements
Management did not identify and we did not notify them of any financial statement misstatements
detected as a result of audit procedures.
Disagreements with management
For purposes of this letter, a disagreement with management is a financial accounting, reporting, or
auditing matter, whether or not resolved to our satisfaction, that could be significant to the financial
statements or the auditors’ report. No such disagreements arose during our audit.
Circumstances that affect the form and content of the auditors’ report
As previously communicated to you, the report was modified to reflect the financial statement was
prepared on the Commonwealth of Massachusetts’ statutory basis of accounting, which is a basis of
accounting other than accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.
Management representations
We have requested certain representations from management that are included in the management
representation letter dated September 4, 2024.
Management consultations with other independent accountants
In some cases, management may decide to consult with other accountants about auditing and
accounting matters, similar to obtaining a “second opinion” on certain situations. If a consultation
involves application of an accounting principle to the entity’s financial statements or a determination of
the type of auditors’ opinion that may be expressed on those statements, our professional standards
require the consulting accountant to check with us to determine that the consultant has all the relevant
facts. To our knowledge, there were no such consultations with other accountants.
Significant issues discussed with management prior to engagement
We generally discuss a variety of matters, including the application of accounting principles and
auditing standards, with management each year prior to engagement as the entity’s auditors. However,
these discussions occurred in the normal course of our professional relationship and our responses
were not a condition to our engagement.
Honorable Speaker of the House of Representatives
and the Honorable President of the Senate
Commonwealth of Massachusetts
Page 3
Supplementary information in relation to the financial statements as a whole
With respect to the detailed schedule of available resources and expenditures – statutory basis (the
supplementary information) accompanying the financial statement, on which we were engaged to report
in relation to the financial statement as a whole, we made certain inquiries of management and
evaluated the form, content, and methods of preparing the information to determine that the information
complies with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America, the method of
preparing it has not changed from the prior period or the reasons for such changes, and the information
is appropriate and complete in relation to our audit of the financial statement. We compared and
reconciled the supplementary information to the underlying accounting records used to prepare the
financial statement or to the financial statement itself. We have issued our report thereon dated
September 4, 2024.
***
This communication is intended solely for the information and use management, the Joint Accounts of
the Legislature, and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and is not intended to be and should not be
used by anyone other than these specified parties.
CliftonLarsonAllen LLP
Boston, Massachusetts
September 4, 2024