District finance staff outline response to Auditor General’s findings, say fixes under way

District finance staff presented an item‑by‑item corrective action plan in response to an Auditor General report covering fiscal year 2022 that identified multiple deficiencies across governance, accounting, procurement and student records. The briefing covered how the district will change processes and what has already been implemented.

A review of the audit: Finance staff (Alicia and Tyler in the transcript) summarized dozens of findings cited by the Auditor General: missing annual guidance and filings on conflicts of interest, incorrectly coded accounting transactions, insufficiently documented journal entries, problems reconciling monthly cash and county superintendent records, misposted grant receipts, poorly managed revolving and clearing accounts, incomplete student enrollment and withdrawal documentation, and asset‑tagging shortfalls. Staff described steps already taken, including moving many records to an electronic system, establishing calendar reminders for USFR updates, centralizing conflict‑of‑interest filings and running targeted training for finance and procurement staff.

Corrective actions and schedule: The finance team said they have implemented or scheduled these reforms: electronic annual conflict‑of‑interest forms and training; regular USFR (Uniform System of Financial Records) training and a standing calendar reminder for updates; sequential journal‑entry controls and approval signatures; monthly reconciliations with County School Superintendent reports and documented signoffs; consolidation and closure of unnecessary bank accounts; establishment of proper revolving‑account limits; and procurement due‑diligence forms for cooperative purchases. Staff told trustees they will tag capital assets in the district ERP as deliveries are received and perform inventory walkthroughs to reconcile missing stewardship items.

Board reaction and timing: Trustees pressed for clear dates and for evidence that the measures will prevent recurrence. Finance staff said some fixes were implemented immediately after the audit and others will be in place before the next audit cycle; the district expects to reflect many corrections in the FY2023 and FY2024 audit reports. Trustees asked for periodic updates and for the district to upload corrective documentation to the Auditor General's portal on schedule.

What remains: Staff said IT and outsourced vendors must provide additional documentation about backups and access controls (these sections remained pending during the meeting), and that some capital‑asset tagging work will require staff time and site inventories. Board members requested copies of the due‑diligence form used for cooperative purchases and asked that corrective steps be presented to the board after implementation.

The board took no vote on the audit presentation; staff were asked to return with documentation showing completed corrective action.