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Board questions scope and cost of Board of Education forensic audit
Summary
Board of Finance members raised concerns about the breadth, cost and timing of a BOE-requested forensic audit that sought five years of general ledgers and bank backups; staff said the BOE's vendor (Gracie Advisors) listed an initial low bid and had not completed the audit by the expected January completion date.
Torrington finance staff told the Board of Finance that the Board of Education's forensic audit request covers the period 07/01/2020–06/30/2025 and seeks detailed materials across all city funds. Staff described producing five years of general ledgers for every fund and noted limits on access to some backup records due to state records-retention rules.
"They requested everything," Erica said, summarizing the BOE team's document request. Olivia (finance support) said the BOE had asked for copies of checks across multiple bank accounts and that reproducing or producing those could be time-consuming and expensive — staff estimated copying costs could run $10,000–$15,000 for large bank box volumes, while the bank might charge about $50 per hour to prepare copies.
Members questioned whether the BOE had budgeted sufficiently for the audit cost and whether the city's role in the engagement was clear. Staff identified Gracie Advisors (a vendor named in BOE materials) and confirmed the initial RFP timeline showed an anticipated completion by January 31, 2026, but no substantive work or interviews with city staff occurred until mid‑June. Several members said they wanted a collaborative interview process to reduce duplication and to ensure the city is appropriately informed, noting that some requested documents reside on BOE systems and some on city systems.
