State and Local Government Accounting Services

We Tailor our Services to Meet Your Needs

Now more than ever, governmental organizations are expected to manage operations and services with fewer resources.

State and Local governments and agencies often face significant obstacles. They must adhere to regulations; work with limited resources; and be able to provide accurate and timely financial information to government officials.  This information is also scrutinized by private citizens, financial institutions, rating agencies and other governmental agencies.

Brown Edwards’ state and local government accounting team understands the budgetary constraints and regulatory environment in which entities operate. We have decades of experience conducting audits, working with governmental officials staff, and resolving the challenges they seek to address.

At Brown Edwards, we tailor our services to meet the needs of your individual organization.

Our professionals understand how to account for the diverse functions in which state and local governments operate, from social services and airports to transit operations and parks and recreation.  The byproducts of our services, whether they be audited financial statements, financial analyses, or governance communications, are transparent, adhere to applicable professional standards, help evaluate and report on internal controls, and are key for citizens, management, governance, and other users for understanding the financial operations of our clients.

Brown Edwards’ experience allows us to give ongoing assistance beyond the numbers. We develop strong relationships with our government clients, interacting with them throughout the year. The trust we develop, the results we provide, and the confidence we instill are all reasons that so many state and local governmental agencies throughout our region choose Brown Edwards for their accounting needs.

Services Offered

The staff at Brown Edwards has served as much more than auditors. They have become a partner with the City of Winchester. They continually give us the guidance and expertise we need to navigate through new mandates and they offer solutions that fit our needs as a small government. The audits are consistently thorough and their focus is on customer services; their staff is always available to us throughout the year if we need assistance.
Mary Blowe
Finance Director, City of Winchester, VA

Contact Our State and Local Government Team

Practice Leader

Chris Banta, CPA, CFE

Partner

Chris Banta, CPA, CFE

Partner

Practice Members

Billy R. Robinson, CPA, CCIFP

Partner

Billy R. Robinson, CPA, CCIFP

Partner

John S. Aldridge, CPA

Partner

John S. Aldridge, CPA

Partner

Leslie F Roberts, CPA

Partner

Leslie F Roberts, CPA

Partner

Matt Heatwole, CPA

Partner

Matt Heatwole, CPA

Partner

Megan Argenbright, MSA, CPA

Partner

Megan Argenbright, MSA, CPA

Partner

Norman D. Yoder, CPA

Partner

Norman D. Yoder, CPA

Partner

Robert “Rob” E. Adams, CPA, CGMA

Partner

Robert “Rob” E. Adams, CPA, CGMA

Partner

Ready to Discuss Your Business Needs?

Contact us to learn more about our services.

Brown Edwards Assists Local Government Boards With Evaluation Of Financial Impact Of Solar Farms

Scenario

As solar farms and the use of solar energy gain popularity, the impacts of these farms on the future finances of local governments remains a mystery.  Multiple rural localities within Virginia have been evaluating the impacts of these farms on their state educational funding.  While there are tax benefits to the companies that own and operate the solar farms, what does this mean for state educational funding that is heavily reliant on the property tax valuations within the locality?

BROWN EDWARDS SOLUTION AND GUIDANCE

Virginia’s educational funding, allocated to local school systems, is based on a number factors including taxable retail sales, adjusted gross income, and real estate valuations.  Changes in any one of these factors impacts the Local Composite Index, or “LCI”, of the locality, which is used to allocate available educational funding.  An increase in any one factor drives the LCI up for the locality, which, in theory, indicates the locality should be able to generate additional local revenues for education.  This in turn proportionately decreases the allocation of state educational funding.    The local boards in question were faced with the following question, “If our LCI increases because of a valuable solar farm in our locality, what is the estimated decrease in our state educational funding, and how does that compare to the incremental increase of property tax revenues since state code significantly limits real estate taxes on solar farms?”

Brown Edwards was engaged to help with this project. Using a deep understanding of the very complex basis for the LCI calculation, we were able to provide the Boards with a very concise and real world analysis consisting of projections including:

  • Recalculations of the LCI using various real estate valuation estimates.
  • Projections of state educational revenue increases.
  • Projections of local property tax revenue increases.

Presenting these results both through external consultants or directly to the governing body, and in some cases, citizens in attendance, provided the information necessary for the boards to understand one very important aspect of these projects that can involve investments of hundreds of millions of dollars in solar farm facilities.

RESULTS

After multiple months of deliberations, citizen commentary, and consultation based on projections of estimated net revenue increases, the local Boards decided to proceed with these projects.

Learn More About How We Can Support Your Governmental Organization

Contact

Our Governmental Accounting Team

Meet the Team

Leslie F Roberts, CPA

Partner

Leslie F Roberts, CPA

Partner

Valerie R. Ellis, CPA, CGMA

Partner

Valerie R. Ellis, CPA, CGMA

Partner

Brown Edwards Certified Public Accountants

Subscribe to our Blog

Complete the form to receive email alerts to BE informed of the latest news impacting your business.

register for the event

register for the event

register for the event

register for the event

This is a test popup

Learn How We Can Support Your Organization

Skip to content