Audit committee asks auditors to finalize procurement audit; subcommittee says management responses are in place

The New Canaan Audit Committee on April 17 directed auditors to finalize the procurement audit report and circulate a final, dated version to the subcommittee and the full audit committee within the coming week.

Chair of the meeting requested auditors remove the "draft" stamp and distribute final reports for both town and Board of Education audits so the files reflect a completed review. Bill, chair of the internal audit subcommittee, summarized two subcommittee meetings — March 20 (schools) and March 23 (town) — saying both were "very constructive" and that "the reports as they stand...are in good shape." Bill added that implementation of recommendations is a separate phase for which the committee will track progress.

School finance representative Sean O'Keefe and school business-office staff confirmed they have provided responses to CLA's recommendations and are developing timelines for implementation. "We're currently on track and progressing as planned," Sean said about the schools' implementation timeline.

The committee discussed policy-and-procedure updates tied to the procure-to-pay process, credit-card usage, and large purchase orders. Town finance staff said they are adapting a comprehensive audit-firm policy template into materials customized for New Canaan and expect to deliver a written timeline to the committee in about three months, with the possibility of producing an interim draft sooner.

Committee members emphasized that issuing a dated, final audit report is an administrative step that allows the record to show the audit as complete while implementation work continues. The committee did not record a formal roll-call vote on the request; members agreed the auditors should proceed to finalize and deliver the reports within the week.

Next steps: auditors were asked to replace the draft stamp with a current date and circulate the final reports to the subcommittee and audit committee; town and school staff will continue implementing recommendations and return to the subcommittee with progress updates.