Financial Audit

After meeting with my Superintendent of Finance, I learned the following about the financial audits.  The external auditor is selected based on bids submitted.  The CFO reviews the bids and finds a firm of licensed certified public accountants who they feel will do the best job and give an authentic, reliable audit. The audit begins in September.  The preliminary results are given the district by October.  The goal of the independent audit was to provide reasonable assurance that the financial statements of the District for the fiscal are free of material misstatement. The independent audit involved examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements; assessing the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management; and, evaluating the overall financial statement presentation. The independent auditor concluded, based upon the audit, that there was a reasonable basis for rendering an unqualified opinion and that the District’s financial statements, are fairly presented in conformity with GAAP. The independent auditors’ report is presented as the first component of the financial section of the districts Financial report.

The independent audit of the financial statements of the District was part of a broader, federally mandated “Single Audit” designed to meet the special needs of federal grantor agencies. The standards governing Single Audit engagements require the independent auditor to report not only on the fair presentation of the financial statements, but also on the audited government’s internal controls and compliance with legal requirements, with special emphasis on internal controls and legal requirements involving the administration of federal awards. These reports are available in the District’s separately issued Single Audit Report.  These results are presented before the school board before submission.