Independent audit gives Adams 12 an unmodified opinion; single-audit federal testing still pending

CliftonLarsonAllen (CLA) presented the district's annual financial-statement audit for the year ended June 30, 2025, reporting an unmodified (clean) opinion and no audit adjustments or findings that required board attention.

John Paul LeChevalier, CLA's signing director, told the board that the firm reviewed internal controls and the financial information included in the annual comprehensive financial report and concluded the statements are materially correct. He cautioned that an audit is not designed to detect all fraud and that their role is to evaluate whether the financial statements fairly present the district's financial position.

LeChevalier reviewed trends in the financial statements, including the long-term presentation that incorporates buildings, bonds and the district's PERA-related net pension liability. He cited an actuarially calculated net pension liability around $700,000,000 on the long-term basis and explained that this is an informational disclosure tied to PERA actuarial calculations rather than cash the district could pay.

CLA noted a delay in the federal Office of Management and Budget's compliance supplement, which has postponed final single-audit testing of federal awards. The presenter said the district received about $33,000,000 in federal awards in fiscal year 2025; required testing of the nutrition cluster and refugee/entrant assistance grants remains preliminary pending federal guidance.

Board members thanked CLA and district finance staff for the unmodified opinion and asked for confirmation that charter-school audits were incorporated into the group financial statements; CLA explained each charter school issues its own audit and CLA reviews those results before including them in the group presentation.

CLA's presenter offered best-practice recommendations to management but said none rose to the level requiring board action.