External audit issues unmodified opinion; auditors note two material weaknesses in internal control

Devin Paff, partner at KC Peterson LTD, presented the district's fiscal-year 2024 audit results to the Rapid City Area School District board, saying auditors issued an unmodified (clean) opinion on the financial statements.

Paff said the audit identified 26 proposed adjustments across several areas and two material weaknesses tied to internal controls over account reconciliations and the drafting of financial statements. He said the district had been behind on filing certain federal reporting requirements for prior years but that the 2025 audit schedule is back on track and he expected the late-filing finding to resolve.

The auditors performed a single audit over federal programs, testing four programs and auditing roughly $28 million of the district's federal funds. Paff said the single-audit testing produced unmodified opinions with no material weaknesses.

Paff reviewed financial metrics: the district reported roughly $181 million in total revenue and $151 million in total expenses for the audit year; by the auditor's measure, the district's current-year position was about 120% of revenues versus expenses. Unassigned general-fund balance was about $15.8 million, or roughly 15.4% of general-fund revenues. Enrollment for the district was reported at 12,433.

Board members thanked the audit team and district business office staff for bringing audits back on schedule following turnover in the business office. The auditors and staff described the situation as improving and said they expect smoother audits going forward.