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Auditor gives Los Alamos Public Schools a clean opinion but flags $1.7M fund-entry error
Summary
Independent auditors issued an unmodified opinion on Los Alamos Public Schools’ FY2024 financial statements and clean federal program results, but reported a material misstatement tied to a fund-to-fund journal entry and two other matters for corrective action.
Bobby Cordova, the lead auditor from Cordova CPAs, told the Los Alamos Public Schools board on March 27 that his firm issued an unmodified (clean) opinion on the district’s fiscal year 2024 financial statements and on its tested federal programs.
The audit covered July 1, 2023, through June 30, 2024. Cordova said revenue for the year rose “to about $18,700,000” from higher state equalization guarantee (SEG) receipts and capital grants tied to construction projects, while the district recorded roughly $24,000,000 in new capital assets. He said cash and investments rose to about $65,000,000 on a June 30, 2024, snapshot, largely because of unspent bond proceeds from the district’s recent bond sale.
Why it matters: an unmodified opinion means auditors found no material misstatement in the overall financial statements, which is the strongest standard for public financial reporting. At the same time, the audit identified a material misstatement that auditors classified as a reportable finding: a roughly $1.7 million fund-to-fund journal entry recorded in error that left some funds appearing overspent by fund even though total district resources were not missing.
Cordova summarized the district’s key results and the single-audit work on federal awards. "The opinion that we rendered was unmodified opinion. Meaning the financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud," Cordova said during his presentation. He also told the board the auditors tested three federal programs (a Department of Education grant, the IDEA special-education cluster, and impact aid) representing about 96% of federal funds; each program received a clean (unmodified) compliance opinion.
Board questions and district response: Board member Ryan Adams asked how auditors graded the severity of the two matters raised. Cordova said the $1.7 million fund-entry issue fell in the "significant deficiency" category (below a material weakness) because it was large enough to warrant board-level attention. Brenda (district finance staff) confirmed the error arose from an August journal entry recorded between funds that was not reversed or reclassified, and she said staff agreed with the finding and have corrective steps planned. "There’s no missing money; it was just really a recording error," Brenda told the board.
Auditors also noted information-technology and long‑standing fund clean‑up items as areas for ongoing work and recommended continued investment in IT controls and stronger fund reconciliation practices. Cordova recommended continued succession planning in the business office and flagged pension and OPEB liabilities reported at the plan level as long-term disclosures that appear on the district’s statement of net position.
Next steps: The audit was submitted to the New Mexico Public Education Department and the federal Audit Clearinghouse on time. The auditors provided a management letter and a required corrective action plan will be prepared for the finding on fund reporting. District staff told the board they will present follow-up items and corrective steps for FY25 to address the journal-entry error and the other recommendations.
Evidence: The board received the auditors’ exit-conference presentation and discussed the items publicly during the March 27 meeting.
