The results of an audit from the 2015-16 fiscal year ending June 30 yielded the highest possible rating for the Warren County R-III School District.An overview of the audit, which covers the district’s financial statements and accounting-related practices, was presented during the monthly board meeting Nov. 10.Jamie Barr, a representative from Arnold-based Daniel Jones and Associates, reported that the firm issued the district an “unmodified opinion,” which is the best of three possible opinions.Chief Financial Officer Tony Chance says he’s pleased with the results of the audit, noting it reflects well upon the district’s handling of taxpayer funds.“We want to be as transparent as possible,” he said. “We’ve just updated on the district’s website to include the budget audits for the past four years, because we want that to be accessible to the public.”Chance says minimal feedback is the best feedback in the case of the audit procedure.An unmodified or “clean opinion,” indicates the firm has no reservations concerning the district’s financial practices or procedures.Last year’s audit, which was conducted by Kerber, Eck and Braeckel LLP, yielded just one area for potential improvement, citing that “checks held at year’s end should be reported in the period actually disbursed.” R-III still received an unmodified opinion.As part of the audit, accountants examined the school district’s compliance with specified requirements of Missouri laws and regulations, including budgetary and disbursement procedures, along with disclosures of attendance and transportation records.Chance says an assessment is made of how in accordance the district is with the Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP).“It was a very clean and easy process to work with Daniel Jones and Associates,” said Chance. “They concluded that there weren’t any findings, which are potentially things we weren’t doing correct financially.”Warren County R-III School District