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Contract CFO outlines audit findings: 83 journal entries, grant-reporting gaps and need for full-time finance roles
Summary
Contract CFO Courtney Krauch told the board the district's independent audit flagged dozens of journal entries and material control weaknesses, including unreported grants and receivables that may total more than $1.6 million. The board discussed hiring a permanent CFO, segregating finance duties and possibly commissioning a forensic audit.
The Woodland Park School District RE-2’s contract chief financial officer, Courtney Krauch, briefed the board on an independent audit that the district filed with the state and described a series of significant findings that the district must correct.
Krauch said the audit submission process used the Colorado Department of Education data pipeline and that the auditors identified 83 journal entries requiring correction; by comparison the prior year showed fewer such items. She told the board the independent auditors had flagged 16 material issues and multiple areas where the district’s grant reporting, revenue recognition and receivable records were incomplete or could not be substantiated.
Krauch summarized specific concerns raised in the report: 27 state and federal grants had balance, revenue or expenditure reporting issues; more than 10 grants did not have properly reviewed revenue entries; and nine grants generated receivable balances that together could not be substantiated and total “exceeding $1,600,000” according to the audit discussion in the meeting. The ESSER grant was cited as another instance with reporting questions.
Krauch and other administrators said immediate priorities are completing bank reconciliations, hiring a permanent CFO, separating accounting duties to create internal controls, and working with principals on building-level budgets to get through the fiscal year. The board and staff also discussed the possibility of commissioning a forensic audit “to definitively rule out fraud,” as several speakers urged, and the auditors indicated they would be willing to attend the next meeting to answer questions in person.
Why it matters: The audit findings raise legal and financial risks, including the potential obligation to return improperly recorded grant funds. Board members repeatedly described the need for transparency, immediate staffing fixes and clearer financial controls to restore public trust.
Selected remarks - Courtney Krauch (contract CFO): “Typically, the approach… is to start there [with the findings] and identify curative actions that can be taken to ensure that whatever the findings are addressing no longer occur.” - Board member (public comment and discussion): administrators said they plan to post a CFO position and to segment finance duties to establish internal controls.
Next steps noted at the meeting: the board directed staff to continue bank reconciliations, consider posting and hiring for a permanent CFO and grant specialist, invite the independent auditors to the next meeting to present findings, and investigate costs and scope for a forensic audit.
Ending: Board members and staff said the district will report progress publicly as reconciliations are completed and staffing changes are made; several speakers emphasized the need for rapid, visible improvements to finance operations to regain community trust.
