The City of Hopewell, Virginia, engaged The Robert Bobb Group (RBG) to provide emergency financial turnaround services after the Commonwealth’s Auditor of Public Accounts (APA) designated the city as fiscally distressed. Years of financial instability, marked by repeated disclaimers from external auditors and unreliable reporting, had left Hopewell without an unmodified audit opinion since 2014 and without financial reports since 2019.

RBG’s engagement focused on two primary objectives: delivering Financial Remediation Services to stabilize the city’s financial operations and implementing Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) to ensure compliance with Virginia’s audit requirements. These efforts aimed to address the city’s immediate fiscal challenges, establish a sustainable foundation for financial health, and improve governance across city functions.

Throughout the engagement, RBG made substantial progress. The team developed a comprehensive work plan for the city’s ERP system, implementing critical modules to streamline processes, reinforce internal controls, and enhance security protocols. Additionally, RBG established SOPs to standardize financial practices across departments, ensuring consistency and compliance. Through its accounting remediation services, RBG cleared the backlog of audits and strengthened financial reporting practices, enhancing transparency throughout city operations and establishing a reliable framework for ongoing financial management.

These accomplishments have set Hopewell on a path toward fiscal stability and compliance, restoring public trust in the city’s financial management and paving the way for long-term, sustainable governance.