OKCPS board accepts FY2024 audit after auditor issues unqualified opinion

Oklahoma City — The Oklahoma City Public Schools Board of Education voted to accept the district's fiscal year 2024 financial audit on April 28, 2025, after external auditors from RSM presented an unqualified opinion and related audit communications.

RSM senior director and engagement leader Tina Robledo told the board, "the audit is complete. We've issued an unqualified opinion," and said the firm also finished the single-audit work of federal funds. Robledo told the board the audit team identified the district's federal awards and the pension liability as areas requiring additional attention and brought in specialists where needed.

The unqualified opinion means RSM determined the district's financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP). Robledo said auditors found no significant or unusual transactions that required separate reporting, but described one material audit adjustment related to reportable opinion units and listed immaterial, uncorrected misstatements in accounts payable that the district elected not to correct under its materiality policy.

Board members pressed auditors about the timing and reliability of the work. Robledo acknowledged a delay in completing the audit and told the board it was a firm resourcing issue: "it was a resource issue," she said, adding that RSM lacked sufficient staff at several points during the engagement. Board member Mike Shelton asked whether the tardiness undermined confidence in the audit; Robledo replied that she would still consider the audit reliable and described steps RSM will take to avoid late deliveries in the future.

Robledo emphasized the size of the district's pension obligation and the nature of pension accounting: "it is a huge number... north of 300,000,000," and she explained that the liability is derived from state-level actuarial valuations and therefore outside the district's direct control. She also described the auditors' approach to estimates and their use of outside actuaries to evaluate assumptions.

Superintendent Jamie Polk thanked RSM and the district finance team for completing the audit and for transparency about the delay. Polk said the district worked with the state to avoid interruptions to funding and thanked the state agency for granting the extension: "we would, at this very moment, be without funds had it not have been the due diligence of everyone I just named." Clerk instructions after the vote directed board members to sign an audit acknowledgement form that will be notarized and transmitted to the state department.

After the presentation and brief questions, a motion to accept the FY2024 audit report was moved and seconded and passed by voice vote. The clerk announced six aye votes and zero nays; the board approved the audit and directed staff to complete the acknowledgement paperwork for submission to the state department.

Why it matters: Accepting an annual audit and completing any required single-audit work is a statutory and fiscal milestone for large school systems. An unqualified opinion signals that auditors found the district's financial statements reliable; the single-audit completion affects federal grant reporting and compliance. The auditors singled out the pension valuation and noted immaterial uncorrected payables, while the district and auditors both acknowledged the engagement finished later than planned.

The district will publish the audit and related single-audit deliverables consistent with state reporting requirements and will work with RSM to address process improvements for future audit timetables.