External auditor issues unmodified opinion on FY24 statements, urges formal financial-system security policy

David Hanson, manager on the audit engagement from CliftonLarsonAllen (CLA), presented the district’s fiscal year 2024 audited financial statements and required communications at the Feb. 27 School Committee meeting.

Hanson said the auditors issued an unmodified opinion on the financial statements for the year ended June 30, 2024, and reported no instances of noncompliance in their single-audit testing of major federal programs. He reviewed government-wide and fund statements and highlighted several items: the district’s committed fund balance was $2.3 million at year-end, total governmental funds fund balance was roughly $2.8 million, and the net change in fund balance was about $600,000 as presented in the auditor’s slides.

Hanson and the audit team noted key liabilities that appear on government‑wide statements: participation in multiple pension plans with different funding levels (the district’s participation in the MERS plan was presented as about 96% funded, the ERS teachers’ plan about 66%, and another plan presented at ~90%), and the town’s debt fund reporting a lower funded percentage.

The auditors had one management recommendation for the district: documentation. Auditors said the district’s web‑based financial system forces password changes every 90 days and enforces password complexity but does not have a district policy that documents that procedure. CLA recommended the district formalize a written policy describing password-change procedures and other accounting-system security measures. Committee members asked whether the vendor supports two‑factor authentication; the auditors responded that the vendor requires only passwords and that multifactor protections are implemented locally where the district has deployed them.

Committee members asked clarifying questions about budget variances that were explained as a combination of additional state aid, expanded CTE program revenues, small increases in pre‑K revenue and rental income, and rebates. The audit presentation included a management letter with recommendations and contact information for the engagement team.

No disagreements with management, difficulties in obtaining information or reportable internal control deficiencies were reported by the auditors during the meeting.