Independent auditors give Fountain Hills a clean opinion; board accepts audit reports

An independent audit engagement partner told the Fountain Hills Unified School board the district received a clean (unmodified) opinion on its annual comprehensive financial report and that required audit reports were filed on time.

Jill Shaw of Heinfeld Meach (introduced in the transcript as Jill Shaw) presented the audit scope, noting the firm conducted a financial statement audit, a government auditing standards engagement and a single audit because the district spends more than $750,000 in federal awards. Shaw said the audit's primary purpose is to provide reasonable — not absolute — assurance on the financial statements and highlighted that the district’s pension liabilities are actuarial estimates tied to ASRS.

Shaw reported one material weakness in the single audit related to adjusting journal entries and miscoding of bond principal and interest that triggered audit adjustments; she said certain corrections were above materiality thresholds. She also said prior-year findings had been corrected, Impact Aid was audited this cycle with no findings, and that management signed the required representation letter. “We did issue an unmodified opinion this year, which is also known as a clean opinion,” Shaw told the board.

Board members discussed improvements since prior years and the reduction in the number and severity of no-responses on the USFR compliance questionnaire. After discussion, a motion to accept the audit report was made and the board voted to accept the audit package.

The board and auditors emphasized the ongoing responsibility of management for internal controls and that accounting estimates (notably pensions) rely on actuarial inputs. The audit report will be filed with ADE, the Auditor General and the federal audit clearinghouse, consistent with statutory deadlines.