An internal audit presented to the Niskayuna Central School District Audit & Finance Committee on Dec. 12 found that district asset records and physical tagging are inconsistent, leaving dozens of items untraceable in the asset database.

Mark Lequesar, the district’s internal auditor from BOCES, told the committee the audit reviewed the district’s AssetMax/AssetWorks database of 4,316 listed assets and used a random sample of 80 items. “I pick a sample of 80 items,” Lequesar said, explaining the fieldwork conducted the week of Sept. 15 and summarized in a letter dated Sept. 19.

Lequesar said auditors could not physically locate 24 of the 80 sampled assets, often because database descriptions lacked sufficient detail or room numbers had changed. Of the 56 items they did locate, 49 did not have district asset tags; seven items were found in a different location than listed. The auditor described many classroom items and all Promethean boards as commonly untagged.

The report also reviewed nine board‑approved disposals and found seven buses awaiting auction and two assets that remained active in the system despite board approval for disposal. Lequesar said some retirements appear to have occurred without formal notification to the board.

District staff outlined a corrective action plan to address the problems. Staff told the committee they will centralize tag handling in the business office so staff confirm an item’s location before affixing tags, circulate a dated retirement form, and schedule a full physical inventory in 2026. “We’ll have it done by 06/30 and ’26,” staff said when asked about timing for the inventory and cleanup.

Lequesar asked the district to finalize a corrective action plan, after which he will finalize his letter and attach the plan to the audit report. The auditor said both the report and the corrective action plan must be approved by the board and uploaded to the State Comptroller’s Education (SCE) portal by mid‑April 2026; he cited April 15 as the portal deadline.

Next steps: staff will deliver the corrective action plan to the auditor for comment, return to the committee in March with updated procedures, and then present the materials to the full board in March or April to meet the SCE portal deadline.