Finding Text
2025-001: Incomplete Year-End Closing Procedures Criteria: Year-end accounting closing procedures are important to ensure that all financial activity for the year is accurately recorded in the financial statements. A complete closing process ensures that all transactions for the year are properly recorded, classified, and disclosed. Such processes involve the preparation, review, and approval of account reconciliations and journal entries before the issuance of financial statements. Additionally, a complete closing process helps prevent errors and fraud by allowing for the identification and correction of misstatements, ensuring that the financial statements reflect the accurate financial position and performance of the School District. Condition: The School District lacked complete year-end closing procedures to ensure accurate and timely financial reporting. Cause: The School District did not complete its year-end closing process for the fiscal year before the commencement of our audit. Account reconciliations were incomplete, and financial statement amounts were not properly reconciled. Additionally, there appears to be ineffective management oversight of the year-end reporting process. Effect: Failure to complete year-end closing procedures caused delays in the audit process as well as significantly increased the risk of material misstatement within the financial statements. Recommendation: The school board and management should review and update year-end accounting closing procedures and increase oversight over the process to ensure timely completion and accurate financial reporting. Response: The School District acknowledges this finding. A corrective action plan to address this finding has been developed and is included with the annual report.