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Winthrop audit shows two significant deficiencies but overall clean opinion expected
Summary
An auditor told the Winthrop School Board that FY25 financial statements are drafted with an expected unmodified opinion; the audit flagged two significant deficiencies in high‑school activity‑fund controls and school‑lunch reconciliations and recommended improved segregation of duties.
Jennifer Connors, the auditor who presented the fiscal year 2025 review to the Winthrop School Board, said the district’s financial statements are in draft and an unmodified (clean) opinion is expected once the town audit is complete. She said the general fund fund balance decreased by $515,000 over five years but increased by about $29,000 in FY25, leaving an unassigned fund balance of roughly $303,000, or about 2.25% of the budget.
Connors flagged two significant deficiencies. First, testing of 40 high‑school disbursements found 35 lacked the required approval voucher and multiple deposit forms were missing required signatures, which violates the school’s internal procedures for activity fund receipts and disbursements. Second, school‑lunch account reconciliations were not consistently signed by the finance director; because district staffing is small, Connors said this missing review creates a segregation‑of‑duties concern.
"We selected 40 disbursements from the high school to test for procedures, and 35 of those 40 disbursements did not have the approval voucher that is required," Connors said, describing why the control lapse was elevated to a significant deficiency. She recommended the district ensure deposit forms carry the required secondary count signature and that the finance director’s review be documented.
Board members asked questions about remedies. A board member described the high‑school findings as an "easy fix," and Connors agreed that improved adherence to existing procedures and documented secondary reviews should address the issues. The presentation also noted that federal‑grant testing of the school‑nutrition cluster produced no compliance findings for that program.
The board did not take immediate formal action on the audit presentation; Connors concluded by reiterating that the financial statements remain drafts until the town audit is complete and that the district should implement steps to strengthen approvals and reconciliation sign‑offs.
The auditor’s slide deck cited overall revenue variances (revenues exceeded budget by about $163,000) and expenditure savings (expenditures were under budget by about $261,000), which combined to produce the slight increase in the FY25 fund balance.
What’s next: the district will receive the final audit once the town audit is complete; the board and staff were advised to document improved controls for activity funds and signed reconciliations.
