The Fairbanks North Star Borough Assembly Audit Committee met June 12 to review audit planning and schedules for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2025, including the borough, the Fairbanks North Star Borough School District and the Interior Gas Utility (IGU).

Brian Kublick, audit principal with Altman Rogers, told the committee that interim fieldwork at the borough was completed the week of June 2 and "went well," and that final fieldwork for the borough is scheduled to begin the week of Sept. 29 and extend into the week of Oct. 6. He said the school district has interim work scheduled the week of July 28 with final fieldwork the week of Aug. 25, and the IGU has no interim work but has final fieldwork scheduled the week of July 28.

The committee pressed auditors on what interim procedures accomplish. "Primarily what we're doing during interim is system work, control testing," Kublick said, adding that interim testing focuses on processes such as cash receipts, billing and payroll controls rather than year-end balance verifications. He cautioned that items rising to the level of "significant deficiencies or material weaknesses" would be documented and reported in the final audit report regardless of whether they were first identified during interim or final fieldwork.

Committee members asked how and when they would be notified of audit issues. Kublick said auditors will notify management and document findings but that many communications require vetting and management responses before being presented to the committee: "We don't report things until I've fully vetted the information," he said. Committee members and staff also discussed the committee's purpose and timing: committee members are the governing bodies' representatives who receive audit reporting; the committee typically meets early in the audit process to review plans, mid-audit to review progress and at conclusion to review final reports.

Several committee members asked how they could be most helpful in the mid-audit and final meetings. Jim Doran, treasurer on the school board, said he wanted clarity about "how our contribution can both best be maximized" for the two meetings. Administration staff offered to provide the audit request-for-proposal (scope of work) to give members context; when asked, staff agreed they could email that document to committee members.

Committee members also sought clarity about timing and the practical effect of interim testing: auditors emphasized that interim work reduces year-end scheduling pressure by allowing system testing before year-end but that substantive verification of balance-sheet amounts requires final fieldwork after fiscal year close. Kublick repeated that auditors report "what is" (the amounts and findings), not operational judgments about entities' choices or budgets.

The meeting concluded with committee members acknowledging the generally clean prior audits and saying they value the independent review as public oversight; no formal motions or votes were taken at the meeting.