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Niskayuna hires Questar 3 BOCES as internal auditor; committee selects fixed-assets audit for 2024–25
Summary
The Niskayuna Central School District’s Audit & Finance Committee confirmed Questar 3 BOCES as its internal auditor and recommended a fixed-assets audit for 2024–25, with auditors to sample IT and non‑IT assets from the district asset system and complete a winter risk assessment.
The Audit & Finance Committee of the NISKAYUNA CENTRAL SCHOOL DISTRICT introduced Questar 3 BOCES as the district’s internal auditor and recommended a fixed‑assets audit for the 2024–25 school year.
Speaker 1, who opened the meeting, said the district issued a request for proposals over the summer and that the board appointed Questar 3 BOCES in August. The committee’s business included selecting a 2024–25 focus so the auditor could begin field work.
"Pleased to welcome, Mark Bodette, who's the audit manager for Questar 3 BOCES," Speaker 1 said when introducing the firm. Mark Bodette (Questar 3 BOCES) told the committee he would personally perform the 2024–25 internal audit and said, "I plan to begin that pretty much after I walk out of this meeting." He described the internal audit program as two elements: an annual risk assessment (likely in winter) and a focused audit area chosen by the committee.
The committee recommended fixed assets as the 2024–25 focus. Speaker 1 said the district recently raised its capitalization threshold to $5,000, has not performed a physical inventory in some time, and is rebuilding fixed‑asset procedures in the business office — factors that make a fixed‑assets audit timely. "We would be getting some best practice from Mark and his team," Speaker 1 said.
Committee members discussed whether to include IT equipment in the sample. Mark explained that his sample will be drawn from the asset software used for financial‑statement reporting and will include IT items if they appear in that system. He noted some devices (for example, Chromebooks) may be excluded from the asset system if they fall below local thresholds. "If you tell me you want me to exclude IT," he said, "you could. It's an option." Committee members generally favored a districtwide sample that includes IT where appropriate.
Members also identified other audit candidates for future cycles, including payroll — described as the district's largest expense — and cafeteria operations once the universal free‑meals transition stabilizes. Mark told the committee he expects to present the risk assessment and to coordinate with the district's business official as his primary contact.
Next steps: the committee will confirm the final scope for the 2024–25 audit, allow Questar 3 to begin field work, and schedule the risk assessment in the winter.
