BROCTON - The Brocton Board of Education was happy with the results of the district's audit. The audit, performed by Bahgat & Laurito-Bahgat, was presented to the board by Louann Laurito-Bahgat, Certified Public Accountant, at its meeting on Thursday.
The unqualified audit opinion, also called a "clean" audit, means that the auditor believes that the school's financial statements give a true picture of the district's finances.
The auditor also looked at several federal programs to see whether the funds granted were spent in compliance with the grantor's specifications. Here too Laurito-Bahgat found no problems.
She noted the district did not spend as much as budgeted in several categories such as central services, media and transportation that helped the district's financial position.
The one suggestion the auditor had for the district dealt with computer accesses. The report stated, "The School Business Administrator/Treasurer, Central Business office staff, and other clerical staff currently have access to financial areas that could compromise internal controls. We recommend that the District review user's accesses and put further restrictions in place to tighten the internal controls of the District."
The District responded that it will review the computer accesses and modify the accesses as necessary.
Laurito-Bahgat carefully explained that this did not mean the district or its employees had done anything wrong. She also said that this type of finding is often found in a small district where employees have to do a variety of jobs.
Board member Susan Hardy said, "It is wonderful that we have an unqualified report."
Superintendent John Hertlein thanked Betty DeLand, the School Business Executive/District Treasurer and her staff for the hard work.
Board member David Hazelton noted, "Control of expenditures didn't just happen." As an example, he cited the purchase of a van that allowed the district to provide transportation in-house instead of contracting out. This resulted in a cost savings to the district.
In another financial matter, Hertlein reported to the board that he had met with James Wolter and Larry Spicer. Wolter had questioned the finances of the district at a board meeting in September and providing copies of his figures to members of the public. Hertlein said the meeting went well, and he believed the two had a better understanding of the figures.
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