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Sumner County internal school funds audit returns clean opinion; fund balance up about $326,000
Summary
External auditor gave Sumner County Schools’ internal school funds a clean opinion for fiscal year ended June 30, 2024, reporting a combined fund balance just over $8 million and revenues near $15.03 million.
An external auditor reported an unmodified (clean) opinion on Sumner County Schools’ internal school funds for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2024, and said the district’s combined internal fund balance rose by about $326,000.
The auditor told the Sumner County Board of Education during the Feb. 4 study session that the audit opinion dated Dec. 13, 2024, included a clean opinion on internal control and identified no material weaknesses. The audit showed a combined internal fund balance of just over $8,000,000; revenues of approximately $15.03 million; and expenditures “just under” $15 million.
The internal school funds cover cash that moves through individual schools for activities such as snack sales, ticketed events, fundraisers, locker fees and similar receipts. Board members and staff discussed the reason for the internal-audit program: to verify that hundreds or thousands of small transactions across 50 schools are accounted for. Superintendent and board participants said school bookkeepers and the district’s internal audit team perform multiple checks on those receipts.
Board members and the auditor described recurring findings as “significant deficiencies,” the lowest reportable category that does not affect an overall audit opinion. The auditor said those instances have declined in frequency over the three years the district has conducted the internal-fund audit. Board members credited the district’s internal audit and bookkeeper training for that improvement.
Administrators described operational controls and support: the internal-audit team trains and backstops building bookkeepers, fills in when bookkeepers are absent and answers daily questions from school staff. The board also heard that declining instances of theft and misuse reflect both tighter procedures and more training, and that cybersecurity threats now figure into fund-control work.
Board members asked for clarification about the program’s purpose and scope; staff reiterated that the audit focuses on school-level cash collections and internal controls, not the district-wide financial statement audit.
No formal board action was recorded on the audit report during the session; the auditor closed the presentation after questions and thanked staff for cooperation.
