Follow the money … if you can.
According to Generally Accepted Principles And Practices (GAPP — also known as the Santiago principles), and the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, a public corporation should change its lead auditing firm every five years. If you look at the table below it appears that the Town of Apple Valley is following this guideline.
However, if you dig just a bit deeper, you will find that the Town of Apple Valley actually has had the same auditor since 2006 — Greg W. Fankhanel.
According to the 2006-2007 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, Greg W. Fankhanel was a CPA at Teaman, Ramirez & Smith, Inc. while that firm was serving as the Town’s auditor. So what apparently happened for the 2012-2013 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report is that Fankhanel created a new business name so he could continue serving as the Town’s auditor despite this not being in line with GAPP. Furthermore, Mr. Fankhanel seems to be operating out of his home, and there is no website for this business — a rarity in this day and age.
But wait, there is more. The current town treasurer is Kofi Antobam, who himself was formerly employed by Teaman, Ramirez & Smith, Inc. As icing on the cake, new Town Manager Doug Robertson stated upon arrival that he does not believe in auditors, or want auditors inspecting the books. This would tend to indicate that a forensic audit is out of the question if he has anything to say about it. Note also that he has not acted on the Town Auditor’s comment made last February in the Auditor’s report regarding the (Federal?) audit he was supposed to deliver.
Given the way the former Town Manager Frank Robinson and disgraced former Assistant Town Manager Marc Puckett were running things, Robertson’s approach seems designed to conceal their pattern of mismanagement and concealment. We must continue to demand that Robertson end the unholy alliance between the Town and its current auditors and call for a full forensic audit. This seems especially necessary in light of the disasters left behind in other cities where Marc Puckett has worked and then — as here — been forced to leave suddenly.
| Audit | Auditor |
|---|---|
| 2006 Redevelopment Agency Report | Teaman, Ramirez & Smith, Inc. |
| 2006-2007 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report | Teaman, Ramirez & Smith, Inc. |
| 2007 Redevelopment Agency Report | Teaman, Ramirez & Smith, Inc. |
| 2007-2008 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report | Teaman, Ramirez & Smith, Inc. |
| 2008 Redevelopment Agency Report | Teaman, Ramirez & Smith, Inc. |
| 2008-2009 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report | Teaman, Ramirez & Smith, Inc. |
| 2009 Redevelopment Agency Report | Teaman, Ramirez & Smith, Inc. |
| 2009-2010 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report | Teaman, Ramirez & Smith, Inc. |
| 2010-2011 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report | Teaman, Ramirez & Smith, Inc. |
| 2011-2012 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report | Teaman, Ramirez & Smith, Inc. |
| 2012-2013 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report | Van Lant & Fankhanel LLP |
| 2013-2014 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report | Van Lant & Fankhanel LLP |
| 2014-2015 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report | Van Lant & Fankhanel LLP |
| 2015-2016 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report | Van Lant & Fankhanel LLP |
| 2016-2017 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report | Van Lant & Fankhanel LLP |