Cornwell, Frideres, Maher & Associates, P.L.C., a certified public accounting firm, has recently conducted an audit of the Eagle Grove Community School District. The audit report has been filed with the Auditor of the State of Iowa, and copies have been submitted to the secretary of the Eagle Grove Community School District.
Financial details revealed by the audit indicate that for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2023, the District's revenues amounted to $17,059,197, marking a 1.3% decrease from the previous year. Conversely, expenses for District operations during the same period totaled $14,646,970, reflecting a 7.0% increase compared to the prior year. This rise in expenses, while significant, is due to negotiated salary and benefits increases, according to the report.
The auditing firm identified four key findings concerning "the receipt and expenditure of taxpayer funds", as detailed in pages 88 through 96 of the audit report. These "deficiencies" can be thought of as areas for improvement. The recurring theme in these four key findings is a lack of sufficient administrative staffing to both keep duties segregated, to provide for checks and balances to prevent errors, and to allow for continuing training to keep staff up to date on changing requirements. The auditing firm offered recommendations to address these areas for improvement, and determined the districts responses, detailing their plans to address each issue, to be acceptable.
Notably, three out of the four findings reported in the current audit are recurrent from the preceding year's report. The Eagle Grove Community School District's Board of Education is tasked with a fiduciary responsibility to oversee the District's operations and financial transactions, a duty defined as the "watchful and responsible care" exercised by a governing body in its fiduciary capacity.
Those interested in more information can access a copy of the audit report on the Auditor of State's website at https://auditor.iowa.gov/audit-reports.
