Auditors give Cary CCSD 26 a clean FY25 opinion; district reports healthy fund balances

Paul Rosario, audit manager at Lauterbach and Eamon, told the Cary CCSD 26 Committee of the Whole on Nov. 10 that the firm issued an unmodified (clean) opinion on the district’s fiscal year 2025 financial statements. "In our opinion, we have expressed an unmodified opinion," Rosario said, the firm’s highest level of assurance.

Rosario walked board members through the comprehensive annual financial report and highlighted key figures: operating income for the year of $40,500,000 and a general fund ending balance reported at $15,700,000. He described the overall fund balance across funds 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50 as totaling $20,300,000 and characterized the district’s position as "very healthy." "This shows that the district has a very healthy fund balance and is continuing to operate at an optimal level," Rosario said.

District business staff and auditors also reviewed the management letter, which shares internal-control recommendations and industry best practices. Rosario emphasized the recommendations are intended as best-practice guidance rather than descriptions of incidents: "These recommendations are pretty much a white umbrella scope," he said, and auditors will notify management if they encounter issues within the audit scope that merit attention.

Board business official David Shepherd described how the business office treats the AFR and comprehensive report as tools for continual improvement. Shepherd said the district has already taken steps on many prior audit action items and will address several current recommendations through process changes and the Jan. 1 Skyward accounting system implementation. "With Skyward coming up in January, this is gonna be addressed," Rosario said regarding the accounting‑software recommendation.

Auditors also called out IT security awareness and monitoring of emerging risks as an area for attention and suggested controls and training enhancements; Shepherd and board members discussed existing practices such as password policies, multi‑factor authentication and phishing training, and said they will review the suggestions with district IT leadership.

Rosario noted upcoming GASB items (GASB 103 and GASB 104) that will affect future reporting and pointed to the MD&A and supplementary schedules for budget‑to‑actual detail. The audit materials and the comprehensive report will be available with the board packet at the next regular board meeting. No formal action to accept the audit was recorded during the Committee of the Whole meeting; follow‑up occurs at the regular board meeting.