In the midst of a period that saw both universal and internal change, the Warren County R-III School District was thankful to continue its record of having a clean report of its financial books. 

School board members heard the explanation of the annual audit completed for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2020, during their monthly meeting on Dec. 10. Representative Keith Slusser from accounting firm Fick, Eggemeyer and Williamson was on hand to present the details of the audit.

“The district got a clean audit opinion,” said Slusser. “That’s an unmodified opinion, which is what you want to receive. We found no material weaknesses or superior deficiencies.”

Board President Laurie Wenzel noted the importance of receiving outside reassurance that the district’s practices remain in line with its vision for operating effectively. 

“Considering one of our board goals is to keep a very watchful eye on our finances, this is great news,” said Wenzel.

R-III was able to maintain its record of receiving an unmodified opinion consistent with the past, in spite of unique challenges and changes in the year. Among these was the retirement of Shelley Kinder as chief financial officer and the transition of that position to a director of accounting, with Julie Corrigan hired into that role.

“It did create some challenges, but I’ve been through enough audits over time, and they’re all pretty consistent,” said Corrigan. “It took us a little bit longer than it usually does. With our team at the central office, we were able to pull through and get the documents we needed to finish everything up.”

The district did receive three recommendations in response to a trio of “current control deficiencies” outlined by the auditing firm. Two of those involved the signing of documents, including purchase orders and paychecks, once those forms have been reviewed.

“Signatures were the biggest thing,” said Corrigan. “We do review the items they were listing with a checkmark, but we just didn’t sign off on some of them. We’ve now added a signature line to those documents.”

The third recommendation involved securing all funds under FDIC or pledged collateral to limit custodial credit risk to the district. 

This was the first year R-III contracted Frick, Eggemeyer and Williamson to perform its audit, making the transition from Daniel Jones and Associates. 

“This is part of a three-year term for this auditing firm,” said Corrigan. “That also created a few hurdles with it being a new firm, but they were very accommodating and helpful. Any questions we had, they were able to get the information we were needing.”

Corrigan says it’s standard practice to change companies every few years to ensure a thorough and honest audit. 

“It goes out for bid and then board approval,” said Corrigan. “We make changes for cost effectiveness and also make sure by changing that a firm doesn’t become relaxed in its auditing process due to familiarity.”