The church's auditors, the firm of Coopers and Lybrand, L.L.P., completed the audit of our 1996 financial statements. Once again Coopers issued an unqualified opinion. This means that in their opinion, the financial statements of the church accurately portray the financial position of the church in a manner that conforms with generally accepted accounting principles.
Coopers usually issues the church's financial statements in the late spring or early summer.
This year, however, the audit was delayed. The reason for the delay concerns the closure of Ambassador University. The decision to close the university was announced in December 1996, and this necessitated additional auditing procedures in order to issue the 1996 audit. These procedures were made more difficult because much of the work for the audit had to be accomplished after most of the university's accounting personnel had been terminated. Notwithstanding the delay, the audited financial statements have been issued, and the church has once again received an unqualified opinion.