Fountain Hills Unified reviews Auditor General findings; district outlines corrective actions

District finance and audit staff presented the board with an Auditor General status review that identified 52 findings across 14 categories. Presenters said the district corrected 27 findings, partially corrected 10 and identified several items that remained to be resolved.

The presentation listed areas still under correction or only partly corrected: accounting record object‑code coding (journal entries were made to correct historical coding), cash and revenue reconciliations, expenditures and encumbrance reporting to the county, procurement due diligence and missing dates on documentation, several information‑technology items, student‑activity cash handling and ticket controls, credit‑card finance charges that will remain as deficiencies for fiscal year 2024 but are expected to be addressed for fiscal 2025, payroll file documentation gaps for some employees and an outstanding question on FTE reporting for online students that staff are clarifying with ADE (Arizona Department of Education).

Staff explained operational steps already in place: updated reconciliation procedures with signed preparer attestations, training for site secretaries on purchase‑order entry, a property‑control tagging process for capital assets, improved student‑activity cash handling (transitioning away from cash, exploring GoFan and season passes) and coordination with outside IT providers to complete outstanding items.

Why it matters: the Auditor General review documents multiple compliance and control weaknesses and the district outlined corrective steps; several issues remain open and may be reflected in the fiscal year 2024 audit findings while being remediated for fiscal year 2025. Board members asked for further documentation (PowerPoint copies and follow‑ups) and clarification on items such as the coding of a $30,720 Prop 202 payment and the status of credit‑card finance charges.