APS finance team outlines internal controls and steps to reduce requisition delays

The Albuquerque Public Schools Board of Education audit committee on April 22 received an overview of the district’s internal-control structure intended to mitigate fraud, waste and abuse. Renette Apodaca, chief financial officer, Mark Turnbull, executive director of accounting, and Amanda Boyle, district controller of accounting, described the district’s preventive, detective and corrective controls and steps taken to speed low-risk purchases without weakening oversight.

Turnbull told the committee the district’s internal-control framework draws on external guidance including the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations (COSO) framework, resources from the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and federal guidance such as OMB Circular A-123 and the Government Accountability Office’s Standards for Internal Control in the Federal Government.

Boyle described the three control types: preventive controls designed to stop adverse events (for example, segregation of duties and approval requirements), detective controls that identify anomalies (monthly financial reviews, audits and reconciliations), and corrective controls that address issues after detection (training, disciplinary steps and process changes). “Financial functions are not made unilaterally even at the highest levels of our organization. They require consensus and documented approvals from the appropriate departments,” Boyle said.

Apodaca said the finance division performs percent-based audits of transactions and approvals, conducts an annual internal risk assessment and follows an audit trail and root-cause analysis when issues arise. She said the district has implemented operational changes to reduce delays that previously affected some Career and Technical Education classroom purchases: an aging report for requisitions that flags orders stuck at an approval stage and automated notices at one, three and five days; expanded use of the procurement card for low-risk, frequent purchases; and establishing vendor contracts where frequent purchases occur so compliance steps are completed ahead of purchase.

Board member Josefina Dominguez cited prior complaints from CTE instructors who could not obtain materials quickly. Apodaca answered that the three operational steps—aging reports, procurement-card use for small purchases and prearranged vendor contracts—helped reduce bottlenecks while keeping controls in place.

Committee members praised the district’s control environment and asked that such information remain publicly available as part of oversight. No formal action was taken on the presentation; the committee later moved to convene an executive session on activity-fund audits.