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Winchester schools receive clean FY2024 audit; auditors note construction-related accounting adjustment
Summary
Brown Edwards told the Winchester school board the FY2024 financial statements received a clean opinion and the district's single-audit of federal programs was clean; auditors reported a significant audit adjustment to construction-in-progress tied to the HVAC project at Frederick Douglas.
Rebecca Gunden, senior audit manager at Brown Edwards, reported to the Winchester public school board that auditors issued a clean opinion on the district's FY2024 financial statements and a clean single-audit opinion for tested federal programs, including special education and ESSER funds. "We issued a clean opinion," Gunden told the board, underscoring that the financial statements are materially correct.
The audit team recorded a limited number of adjustments and recommendations. Gunden said auditors made a significant journal entry to "true up" construction-in-progress balances related to an HVAC project at Frederick Douglas Elementary, describing the true-up as coming in "just shy of $2.9 million" to reflect added work. The audit report also included adjustments to lease and subscription contract accounting.
Gunden reviewed the required communications and the management letter, which highlighted internal-control suggestions focused on tracking leases/subscriptions and ensuring construction and contract coding aligns with capital project accounting. She told the board those recommendations are aimed at improving processes and that management has already worked with auditors to correct balances.
Board members asked about next steps. In response to a question about implementation, Gunden said auditors and district finance staff will follow up in the spring to confirm updated tracking and reconciliations are in place and that one of the journal entries reflected an omitted code structure rather than an ongoing control failure.
Why it matters: a clean financial opinion signals that the district's financial statements present fairly in all material respects. The construction-related audit adjustment affects capital accounting and will influence internal controls and reporting for the related project. The auditors recommended specific controls to reduce the risk of future misstatements.
The board did not take formal action on the audit beyond receiving the report; finance staff and auditors said they will continue to work together on corrective steps and process improvements.
