Audit Objective
Did the Riverhead Central School District (District) Board members (Board) receive complete and accurate financial information in a timely manner to enable them to monitor financial operations?
Audit Period
July 1, 2022 – April 30, 2024
Understanding the Audit Area
The Board and District officials are responsible for developing policies and procedures to ensure the Board receives sufficient information to monitor the District’s financial operations. The Assistant Superintendent for Business (Assistant Superintendent) oversees the operations of the Business Office, which includes overseeing accounting and reporting. The Treasurer, as the custodian of District funds, is responsible for signing checks, making electronic payments and transfers and submitting reports to the Board.
The District had $167.7 million in general fund expenditures for the 2022-23 fiscal year.
Audit Summary
District officials did not provide the Board with complete and accurate information in a timely manner to enable them to monitor the District’s financial operations.
- Reports to the Board were not always accurate, complete and submitted in a timely manner. Financial reports submitted in six of the 22 months to the Board were between 60 and 107 days after month’s end. For example, the July 2022 reports were provided to the Board at the November 2022 meeting, three months later.
- While all 141 bank transfers totaling $127 million we reviewed were between District bank accounts, none of the transfers were reviewed and approved by someone other than the Treasurer prior to the transaction taking place. This occurred because the Treasurer’s duties were not properly segregated, compensating controls were not established and the Treasurer’s work was not reviewed.
- Budget transfers were not properly approved or reported to the Board. None of the 47 budget transfers totaling $12.3 million we reviewed were approved by the Board.
When the Board is not provided with sufficient information, and financial reports are not accurate, complete and submitted in a timely manner, the Board’s ability to adequately and effectively monitor the District’s financial operations is limited.
The report includes eight recommendations that, if implemented, will improve the District’s oversight of financial operations. District officials generally agreed with our recommendations, and their response is included in Appendix B.
The Board has the responsibility to initiate corrective action. A written corrective action plan (CAP) that addresses the findings and recommendations in this report must be prepared and provided to our office within 90 days, pursuant to Section 35 of the New York State General Municipal Law, Section 2116-a (3)(c) of the New York State Education Law and Section 170.12 of the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education. To the extent practicable, implementation of the CAP must begin by the end of the next fiscal year. For more information on preparing and filing your CAP, please refer to our brochure, Responding to an OSC Audit Report, which you received with the draft audit report. The CAP should be posted on the District’s website for public review.