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January 29, 2026

January 29, 2026

Michigan Committee on Governmental Auditing and Accounting

January 29, 2026

Meeting Minutes

  1. Call to Order
    1. Cary Vaughn called the meeting to order at 10:01 a.m.
  2. Roll Call
    1. Members Present – 11
      1. Cary Vaughn – Department of Treasury
      2. Yongping McDonnell - Department of Treasury
      3. Cassandra Kelly – Department of Treasury
      4. Harlan Goodrich - Department of Treasury
      5. Rana Emmons – PSLZ
      6. Penny Ray – Milford, MI
      7. Bill Tucker – Maner Costerisan
      8. Michelle Watterworth – Plante Moran
      9. Eric Van Dop – Brickley DeLong
      10. Anthony Moggio – City of Rochester
      11. Wendy Trumbull – Canton Township, MI
  3. Review of Prior Meeting Minutes
    1. The October 9, 2025 draft meeting minutes were sent out to the members for review. Committee approved minutes and they have been posted to the web.
  4. Old Business
    1. None
  5. New Business
    1. New System Update
      1. Yongping gave an update on the new system (Elite 3.0) to the Committee. Treasury is still waiting to hear if there is money for it. Hoping to start early this year and start testing later this year. Before the launch, external testing needs to be done. Rana, Michelle and Bill volunteered to help with the external testing. Some processes will be changed for the better as far as forms, etc. to be more cohesive.
    2. ADA Compliance
      1. Cary Vaughn reported to the committee that starting in April 2026 the state will have to comply with ADA. Even though smaller entities under 50,000 population do not have to comply until April 2027, all interactions/documents with the state even from those will have to comply in 2026. Cassandra gave an update to the committee and did a demo to show the committee how to use DocAccess to make a pdf compliant and use AI to create an ADA compliant transcript. The committee discussed potential concerns related to the use of AI-generated ADA-accessible views of audit reports. There was discussion about the possibility that wording or content within the financial statements could be added to or modified through the AI translation process without review by the auditor or the reporting entity. A disclaimer identifying the original PDF audit report as the authoritative document was discussed as a possible option to explore from both a legal and AICPA audit standards perspective; however, no conclusions were reached regarding the effectiveness or appropriateness of such a disclaimer.
    3. Deficit Elimination Plan Update
      1. Harlan gave an overview of the DEP process and how the decision is made with the new system. The committee had a discussion around the use of net cash from operating activities; exclusion/inclusion of current portion of long-term debt; GASB 103 implications; Transit and grant-funded enterprise concerns; no decisions just on-going analysis planned.
    4. 2026 BLGSS Plan
      1. There will be more focus on fiscally distressed local units and what we can do to help providing more tools, webinars and training to assist with the downturn in local government finances. There is a lack of auditors within the state. Cary gave an update on the proposal for Local Government Workforce Development Pilot.
    5. Fiscally Ready Communities
      1. Yongping went over the FRC program with the committee and when the next couple of meetings, which will be February 9 – Budgeting and March 19 – Capital Assets. She will send the link to the committee so they can attend if they would like.
    6. Items on Our To Do List
      1. Audit Manual
      2. Transit Manual – Treasury will ask MGFOA to help. Cary would like someone from MDOT to help.
      3. DTRF Accounting – Treasury will need to review this internally.
  6. Adjournment
    1. 11:20AM