Springfield Airport Authority Files Another Solid Annual Financial Report
For its fiscal year ending June 30, the Springfield Airport Authority received an unmodified, or “clean opinion,” of its financial statements and the corresponding Comprehensive Annual Financial Report from the CPA firm of Eck, Schafer & Punke. Jim Hogge from the CPA firm said, “Authority management and staff did a great job preparing for the audit and the process went extremely smooth. We did not find any deficiencies during the audit process.”
According to the report, the authority posted an increase of its net assets, total assets minus total liabilities, from the previous year to $64.3 million at fiscal year-end. The authority realized a net gain of $1,130,402 in accordance with applicable accounting rules and regulations. The timing of development grant contribution revenues vary considerably from year to year, which is generally the primary reason for the authority showing wide-ranging swings in its net income in any given year. In an effort to provide a more realistic and normalized pronouncement of the financial posture of the authority at fiscal year-end; the exclusion of depreciation expense of $4,794,568 and development grant contribution revenue of $3,884,249 yields a positive net income value of $2,040,721. This is one of the highest net incomes, excluding depreciation expense and grant contributions, reported in the last ten years.
“The Airport Authority staff has done an outstanding job of maintaining and diversifying its revenue streams, being disciplined with operational expenditures and capital investments, managing debt and growing balances in certain reserve funds,” said Mike Houston, chair of the Airport Authority’s Budget and Finance Committee. He concluded by noting, “This financial report covers four months of the fiscal year that was negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. It is obvious that during this next fiscal year, we, along with many other organizations, will be faced with numerous challenges. However, we feel confident that we can maintain a strong financial position and provide opportunities for operational growth when demand for aviation sector services rebound.”
Frank J. Vala, chair for the Board of Commissioners, summarized the financial report by saying, “The Authority’s staff has done an excellent job navigating the numerous challenges the pandemic has created within the industry. Numerous uncontrollable factors affected the execution of the airport’s budget this past year; however, those did not deter our continued efforts to develop and modernize the airport’s facilities for the community’s benefit. We will be ready to fully support our region’s post-pandemic economic recovery efforts as we anticipate the completion of nearly $20 million in landside improvements and begin another $20 million in airside improvements this next fiscal year.” He concluded, “We continue our long tradition of excellent financial reporting and fiscal responsibility; all levels of our organization are to be commended for this success.”
