An independent auditor’s report shows the Town of Qualicum Beach is in good financial shape.
Micaela Roque of KPMG presented the town’s 2023 audited financial statements at council’s regular meeting on May 1.
“Based on the financial assets figure, you would have excess funds sitting there including all your reserve monies,” said Roque. “There’s funds sitting there for the future but it’s in a healthy position from a financial asset perspective.”
At the end of year, Dec. 31, 2023, the town’s financial assets were up $32,881,076 from $25,294,633 the previous year. But the town’s liabilities also went up from $12,068,349 in 2022 to $16,156,116 in 2023.
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Roque pointed out the town clears some of it financial obligations, the net financial assets of the town would be $16,724,958, which is a strong indication of the town’s ability to pay off their liabilities.
“It’s an important number,” Roque said.
The town’s revenue in 2023 went up to $28,925,396 compared to last year’s amount of $26,857,591. The town’s expenditures went up in 2023 to $19,673,517 from $18,465,906 in 2022. The annual surplus came to $9,251,879 boosting the town’s accumulated surplus from $141,906,840 to $151,158,719.
Roque cautioned, however, that a huge portion of the accumulated surplus is already tied to the town’s physical assets.