SLPS audit committee approves annual internal audit plan, schedules finance follow-up after state audit

The St. Louis Public Schools (SLPS) audit committee voted to approve an annual internal audit plan that front-loads human-resources reviews this fall and reserves broader finance audits for the spring to avoid overlapping work with ongoing state and external auditors. The committee approved the plan after discussion and a formal vote in open session.

The decision matters because the Missouri state auditor and an external firm are conducting simultaneous reviews of SLPS; committee members agreed that scheduling more-comprehensive finance audits for spring will allow internal auditors to perform effective follow-up and testing after external work finishes. Dr. Katrina Hubbard, the district’s internal auditor, told the committee she updated the plan to reflect recent state-auditor findings and to concentrate the fall work on HR areas.

"I actually updated the audit plan to reflect...more on the findings from the state auditor," Dr. Katrina Hubbard said. "The fall focus will be HR-focused: personnel records management, compensation administration, incentive pay, as well as background checks and record keeping related to such." She added that she has already begun follow-up work on compensation as a carryover from the spring reviews.

Board and committee members debated whether parts of finance should be moved up to this fall. "I'm just wondering why finance isn't at the top and then HR comes right after that," said Dr. Borushade, a committee member, during the discussion. Other members responded that having multiple auditors in finance at the same time could create administrative gridlock and hamper the district's ability to provide documentation. One speaker summarized the compromise as allowing focused follow-up in the fall while postponing a fuller finance performance audit until the spring so internal testing can reflect any corrective actions taken after the state and external audits conclude.

Dr. Hubbard described two finance-area audit reports she has completed — procurement and credit-card use through April 30 — and said those reports are ready to come to the audit committee for a recommendation to the full board. "Those reports...are prepared to come to the board," she said, adding that the audit committee must first vote to recommend them and that she expects to present to the board in a closed session at the September work session.

The committee also discussed membership and agreed to recruit one additional community member with financial expertise so that community (external) members outnumber board members on the audit committee. A committee member said recruiting a local finance-qualified volunteer will yield a 3-to-2 split in favor of external members for voting on committee matters.

Formal actions taken in open session included approval of the minutes from the Aug. 4, 2025 meeting and approval of the annual internal audit plan as presented. After approving the plan in open session, committee members moved to adjourn into the scheduled closed session to discuss matters designated for that forum.

The committee recorded no changes to the plan’s scope at the vote; members agreed the plan remains amendable and that any needed tweaks would return to the audit committee for approval. Dr. Hubbard said the spring audits will focus on budgeting and financial planning, payroll administration, disbursement and expense management, capital-asset management and alignment of policies and procedures.

What happens next: the audit committee will vote to recommend the completed procurement and credit-card reports to the full board; Dr. Hubbard said she expects to present those reports to the board in a closed session during the September work session. The committee will continue recruiting a community member with financial expertise to join the audit committee.