Suffolk schools CFO details exhaustive annual audit process, internal controls and grant monitoring

Suffolk Public Schools’ chief financial officer outlined the division’s audit process, grant monitoring and internal controls during the March 13 work session, telling the board that external auditors and federal monitors conduct exhaustive reviews of payroll, procurement, grants and other financial systems.

Wendy Forsman, chief financial officer, said audits begin in July with a preliminary file (prepared‑by‑client) and progress through reconciliations, payroll controls, procurement testing and multiple confirmations with outside vendors and agencies. "They test our payroll controls, they test our cash disbursements, the controls that we have on that, who signs it, how often," she said.

Forsman described requirements auditors examine: public hearing affidavits for budget notices, reconciliations of state payments, sampling of disbursements and grant expenditures, inventories and depreciation schedules, pension and OPEB (other post‑employment benefits) valuations, and third‑party SOC reports for vendors such as Anthem and Sedgwick.

She told the board the auditors reconcile the district’s records with the city treasurer and outside service vendors and that federal programs receive separate monitoring. Forsman said Suffolk is also subject to a rotating federal monitoring of Title I and Title IV funds, and that ESSER/CARES Act expenditures can be audited under separate "yellow book" rules requiring transaction‑level documentation.

Board members asked procedural questions about procurement cards, purchase workflows and timelines. Forsman described multiple levels of approval before a purchase reaches accounts payable: a requester, a department head, finance review, and purchasing signoff — and an e‑receipt workflow for purchase card transactions. She estimated the division conducts five to six audits or monitoring reviews annually, not including the city audit.

Finally, Forsman said the audit season requires substantial staff time; three finance office staff devote a majority of their hours during peak months to compiling audit documentation. Board members asked for continued training and public explanations about controls and reconciliations to improve transparency.

The presentation closed with a board member request to review the treasurer’s role in bank reconciliations; Forsman said the district reconciles monthly to the treasurer’s records "to the penny."