Internal audit flags HR onboarding and procurement gaps at Marion County schools; board hears $415K–$693K in missed tax savings

On Feb. 20, 2025, the Marion County School Board received a presentation from RSM, the district's contracted internal auditor, that identified weaknesses in human-resources onboarding documentation and in purchasing and procurement controls and recommended prioritized remediation and automation.

RSM auditors told the board their work tested the district's recruiting and onboarding and procurement processes for the April 2023–March 2024 audit period. Clara Ewing of RSM said the firm’s role was to “assess and improve the effectiveness of an organization's internal controls” and described RSM as an outsourced internal-audit provider working with multiple Florida districts.

The auditors reported several specific findings. In HR onboarding, RSM tested a sample that included 50 employee files and found eight instances of missing or incomplete onboarding documentation (6 of those were present at school or department sites but were not available to HR during testing). The firm recommended greater centralized oversight so HR has visibility into site-level records. Auditors also flagged limited differentiation of role-based permissions in Skyward, the district’s administrative system, and identified nine user-permission instances that…