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Auditor: district fund balances strong though formal audit delayed by pension data
Summary
The district auditor told the board the formal audit is not yet filed because Essex County pension data is pending, but said the district's fund balances and reserves are in strong position and offered two recurring management suggestions about federal grant drawdowns and COVID-related compliance checks.
The Caldwell West Caldwell Board of Education was told Dec. 16 that the district's formal audit has not yet been filed because the Essex County pension-system information required for the audit has not arrived.
"The audit hasn't been filed yet because the district has employees who are part of the Essex County Pension System, and we are promised that the information will be out Nov. 20," the auditor said, noting the delay and that the final audit would be reviewed by the board when the pension data is available.
Despite the timing, the auditor reported what they described as a strong fiscal position in the district's budgetary-basis figures: the auditor cited a capital reserve balance of $10,000,008.18, a maintenance reserve of $1,000,004.51, and described an unassigned fund balance near $2,000,001.39. The auditor also said the district deposited $2,000,000 to capital and $1,000,000 to maintenance reserves during the year.
The auditor summarized enterprise funds and long-term liabilities, and flagged that a new GASB standard (GASB 101) on compensated absences was an accounting change the district had addressed. "We have no audit recommendations," the auditor said, but offered two management suggestions that repeatedly appear in audits: drawing down federal grant receivables on a regular basis so the district is not using local cash for federally funded expenses, and careful documentation for COVID-related federal funds.
Board members praised the business office and the auditor noted ongoing communication between the board's finance staff and the audit firm. The board was told the auditor expected the outstanding pension data to be resolved and the audit to be filed in the near term, after which the statements and audit report will be posted and voted on as required.
No formal audit acceptance vote occurred at the meeting because the final audit documents were not yet available.
