A management letter issued alongside the city's clean fiscal year 2025 audit flagged several recurring internal control weaknesses across Helena city operations. Auditors identified cash handling problems at both the golf course and the civic center, where the same staff member both collects cash and prepares deposits — a separation-of-duties gap that creates risk of undetected error or misuse. A similar issue was noted at the Transportation Systems Division office. Finance Director Danielson acknowledged before the Helena City Commission that fully resolving these gaps is difficult in small operations where staffing levels limit the ability to divide duties.

On a more positive note, Danielson reported that a parking reconciliation problem identified in the first half of FY2025 has been resolved through new software implemented by the Transportation Systems Division. A petty cash reconciliation issue within the Finance Director's own office has also been addressed through a new internal control procedure. Recommendations related to IT systems, including disaster recovery planning and user access reviews, are scheduled for discussion at an upcoming IT committee meeting.

Commissioner Reid pointed out that some of the flagged findings also appeared in the prior year's audit, indicating the issues are not new. Danielson committed to reporting back to the commission with updates on the status of all audit recommendations. Despite the internal control findings, the city's overall audit received a clean opinion, meaning auditors found no material misstatements in the city's financial statements.