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Broward audit committee flags systemic inventory, HR control gaps after missing laptops report
Summary
The audit committee told the School Board workshop it will pursue follow-up work after the district's chief auditor flagged gaps that let COVID-era laptops go missing. Committee leaders and the chief auditor described conflicting policies and weak central controls as causes.
The School Board of Broward County's audit committee on May 9 told the full board it will press for follow-up work after auditors traced 66 missing COVID-era laptops to systemic gaps in how the district records and reconciles property.
The issue emerged during a March audit and was summarized at the board's workshop by Audit Committee Chair Dr. Natalie Lynch Walsh. "Buckle up because it gets a little bumpy around here," she told the board as she described the findings and the committee's next steps.
Lynch Walsh and the committee said the problem flows from conflicting rules about who is custodian of school property. Lynch Walsh said the district's business practice bulletin does not require schools to reconcile inventory and that policy language has not been updated since 1998. She cited Florida Administrative Code 69I-73 and Florida Statutes (1001.51 and chapter 274) that assign custodial and property-control responsibilities to the superintendent and chief financial officer. "This is the opportunity to fix it," Lynch Walsh said, noting auditors' standard sampling uncovered the deficiency when physical reconciliation had been left undone.
The committee said the historical practice left some property-accountability tasks to schools and departments rather than a centralized finance office and that the chief auditor's role is to evaluate internal controls, not to perform custodial reconciliation. Chief Auditor (name not given in public summary) told the board the prior audit work had found repeated weaknesses in food-nutrition and other areas, and that the internal-controls audit of HR is scheduled to follow up on related matters.
What the audit committee will do next: Lynch Walsh said the committee has already scheduled updates for the June meeting and has moved to request a deeper follow-up audit of Atlantic West Elementary stemming from the 66 missing laptops. She told board members the chief auditor will present more detail at the June committee meeting.
Why it matters: The committee framed the laptop finding as a symptom of broader internal-control and policy misalignment that could affect asset protection, financial reporting and compliance with state auditor requirements. Lynch Walsh pointed to inconsistent roles captured in school board policy 32-04 and the now-defunct property and inventory department as root causes.
Where it stands now: The committee reported it will continue its work at the June audit committee meeting and has an ongoing internal-controls audit of HR in its work plan. The committee asked staff to bring clarifying documents and to coordinate with legal counsel and the chief financial officer's office as policies are reviewed.
Ending note: Lynch Walsh told the board the problems are fixable and urged that the district map responsibilities for property, inventory and reconciliations to the offices named in state law so auditors evaluate controls rather than perform custodial duties.
