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External auditors give district a clean opinion, flag controls over capital assets
Summary
Heinfeld Meach presented the Fountain Hills Unified annual audit to the board, reporting an unmodified (clean) opinion while noting one significant deficiency in capital-asset controls and one immaterial issue involving an uncapitalized security system.
The external audit firm Heinfeld Meach presented its annual review to the Fountain Hills Unified School District board, saying the district’s financial statements received an unmodified — or "clean" — opinion.
"On page 11 is the independent auditors report, and it did include an unmodified opinion," said Jill Shaw of Heinfeld Meach during her presentation. Shaw told the board the audit was completed on schedule and all reports filed by the March 31 deadline.
The auditors identified one significant deficiency related to internal controls over capital assets. Shaw described an immaterial error in which a security system was not recorded on the district’s capital-assets listing and therefore was not depreciated. She said that, while not material to the financial statements, the issue was large enough to warrant a finding in the single-audit package (FS2025001).
Board members asked about the 18 "no responses" listed in the USFR compliance questionnaire. "I believe the average district is around 15, so it's pretty average in number," Shaw said, adding that not all "no" responses carry the same severity and that cash-reconciliation exceptions would be more concerning than posting a report to the wrong web page.
Shaw explained the scope of the audit: a financial-statement audit performed under generally accepted auditing standards and government auditing standards, with federal single-audit procedures applied because the district spends more than $750,000 in federal awards.
Shaw emphasized the auditor’s role: "Our responsibility is to provide a reasonable but not absolute assurance on the financial statements," and noted the auditor’s practice of proposing adjustments when material errors are found.
The board heard that a prior-year finding had been corrected and was noted as resolved in this year's report. No disagreements over accounting principles were reported by the auditors, and management signed the representation letter taking responsibility for the statements and internal controls.
The presentation concluded with opportunities for board questions; the auditor and district staff said they would follow up on any outstanding detail requests. The audit communication and the single-audit report will remain part of the district’s official records.
