District audit: auditors give 'unmodified' opinion and no material weaknesses

The district27s audited financial statements for the year ended June 30, 2025, received an unmodified (clean) opinion, auditor Daria Bettenberg told the Grants Pass School District 7 board. "In our opinion ... everything is presented fairly, without material misstatement in accordance with GAAP," Bettenberg said.

Bettenberg, introduced as a partner with the audit firm, told the board the audit team reviewed federal-award programs including the Child Nutrition cluster and the IDEA special-education cluster and did not identify any material noncompliance related to those awards. She said the audit did not identify any material weaknesses or significant deficiencies that would affect the financial statements and that the district should qualify as a low-risk auditee next year after two consecutive years with no such findings.

The auditor also highlighted a new government-accounting standard, GASB 101 (compensated absences), which required a government-wide restatement related to sick-leave liability; Bettenberg said that adjustment affected the government-wide net position (she cited a restatement figure of about $4,600,000) but "does not affect the district in their day to day budgeting or in your fund financials." The auditor recommended management continue refining year-end close processes and suggested the board consider a formal fraud-risk assessment if it wants additional assurance beyond the financial-statement audit.

Board members asked whether the audit provides protection against fraud. Bettenberg answered that a financial-statement audit does not provide absolute assurance: "an audit isn't designed to provide absolute assurance, especially when it comes to fraud," and she explained the audit does not perform a full test of internal controls (a separate internal-controls audit or agreed-upon procedures would be needed for that scope).

The auditor said the firm tries to be cost-conscious and noted that qualifying as a low-risk auditee can reduce the number of federal programs that must be tested in future audits. She closed by inviting board members to follow up with questions and said the auditor team appreciated working with the district's staff.

Next steps: the board received the audited financial statements and the communication with governance; no formal corrective actions were required related to material misstatement.