Auditor General briefs Fairfax County School Board Audit Committee on 70+ fraud, waste and abuse reports and planned FY27 audits

Auditor General Esther Koh told the Fairfax County School Board Audit Committee on May 11 that the Office of the Auditor General (OAG) is on schedule with current audit work and has received more than 70 fraud, waste and abuse reports this fiscal year, a figure the office said is approaching 80.

The midyear briefing reviewed completed and ongoing audits, quality-management changes and the office’s hotline activity. Koh said the briefing is intended to “bridge” work completed since the FY25 annual report and to give the full school board context before it approves FY27 audit topics and the risk assessment in July. "We have over 70 concerns for this fiscal year," she said, adding that the hotline has provided leads for audits and follow-up.

Danielle Moore of the OAG outlined nine audit areas and schedules. Moore said business process audits have been completed at seven schools and produced one high-risk, one moderate-risk and 11 low-risk findings; remaining BPAs will be reported at the committee’s June meeting. She described other work in progress — an hourly employee structure and stipends audit in fieldwork, a local school activity funds audit due in November, vendor/contract reviews planned for September and ongoing continuous monitoring of transactions and unannounced cash counts at events. Moore also said certain audits, including a health-care claims management review and a school safety audit, were discussed in closed session because they were exempt from public disclosure under the Virginia code.

Committee members raised questions about whether the findings reflected training gaps, confusing charts of accounts or system limitations. "Is this indicating we need a systemwide retraining for our finance technicians or are the policies too complex to follow?" Marcia Saint John Cunning asked. Koh and Sima, the comptroller, said training is part of the solution and noted the district’s chart-of-accounts and finance system can complicate coding. "We use Great Plains, which will no longer be used in two years," Sima said, adding that a modern system could allow differentiated codes and block certain entries to reduce misclassification.

Members also asked whether the OAG could quantify reportable allegations in dollar terms. Mr. Moon asked if the office could show the monetary extent of waste or how much staff time investigations require. Koh said the OAG attempts to quantify reportable cases and provides dollar figures when possible, but frequently that information is reviewed in closed session because of disclosure exemptions. "I can certainly explore that to see if we can include dollar figures," Koh said, while noting reputational risk can factor in prioritization as well.

On process, Koh described how the OAG triages hotline reports: the auditor general performs an initial review to assess risk and assigns staff for more extensive examinations, prioritizing items that may pose a significant reputational or operational impact. Moore said the office had 16 outstanding audit recommendations from current and prior years as of the last reporting period and will continue quarterly follow-up reporting to the committee.

After questions, the committee approved routine minutes from the March 2, 2026 meeting (motion by Nanette; second by Mr. Moon) with Mr. Dannen abstaining because he had not attended that prior meeting. The committee then voted to convene a closed meeting to discuss personnel matters and consult legal counsel under the cited sections of the Virginia code; the chair announced the motion was moved by Marcia Saint John Cunning, seconded by Miss Henderson, and passed unanimously for those present, including Mr. Dannen online. The public meeting recessed at 4:36 p.m.

The OAG said it will present additional BPA results in June, report on follow-up in June and continue scheduled presentations later in the year. The committee’s proposed FY27 audit topics will be forwarded to the full school board for review in July.