Auditor gives Quabbin Regional School District a clean FY24 opinion; committee accepts report

Quabbin Regional School Committee members accepted the fiscal 2024 audit and federal single-audit reports on Feb. 13 after an hourlong presentation by the district’s external auditor, Mr. Peacock.

The unmodified opinion indicates auditors found no material misstatements in the district’s financial statements. ‘‘We did not have any adjustments that we needed to provide to the finance team to make to the general ledger,’’ Mr. Peacock told the committee, noting the district’s accounting records and supporting documentation were timely and complete.

The audit team also completed a federal single-audit review this year that covered the child nutrition cluster and the special-education cluster; both received unmodified opinions, Mr. Peacock said. He described the audit process as more intensive than prior years because of changed auditing standards and his firm’s recent merger, but praised the district finance staff for rapid, accurate responses to requests for supporting documentation.

Committee members asked about accessibility of the written report; Mr. Peacock and district staff said the audit files and the federal-report documents are available in the committee’s shared drive and will be posted as required. The committee also discussed year-end reserve (E&D) amounts: the superintendent said preliminary certified E&D for fiscal 2024 was $881,000, and the auditor confirmed the district used roughly $470,000 of the roughly $760,000 that had been voted to balance the budget this year.

Peacock noted delays outside the district’s control — chiefly slower actuarial valuations for OPEB and pension from Worcester Regional actuaries — that affected final report timing. He said those delays, and the firm merger and new Governmental Accounting Standards Board requirements, lengthened the audit but did not change results.

After questions, the committee voted to accept the audit reports. The motion carried on roll call.