Audit finds gaps in Caddo Parish School District asset records; staff ordered to report back in three months

The Caddo Parish School Board Audit Committee on Tuesday reviewed an internal audit that found missing, inconsistently tagged and duplicated district assets and weaknesses in inventory controls for both capitalized property and school technology.

The audit presentation, delivered by Kelly Oswald, the district's chief internal auditor, said the district maintains nearly 4,000 capitalized assets in its Business Plus system with a recorded combined value of about $238,000,000 as of Dec. 31. Oswald said capitalized assets are items recorded at more than $5,000 and that most technology items fall below that threshold and are tracked in a separate system, Incident IQ, implemented in 2021.

The audit recommended a series of fixes, including consolidating disparate inventory systems, standardizing tagging so all assets are scannable, automating transfer and salvage workflows, and creating a single written policy and consistent procedures for tagging, tracking and handling missing or excess assets. Oswald said a recent centralization effort and software conversion give the district a chance to correct long-standing inconsistencies.

Why it matters: District assets are public property held in trust for taxpayers. Inconsistent records make it difficult to…