The La Center School District’s internal controls over financial reporting showed various deficiencies, according to a report released Tuesday from the Washington State Auditor’s Office.
According to the district’s response in the report, the issues partly stemmed from turnover with the business manager position, with La Center having six people in the position from Sept. 1, 2013, through Aug. 31, 2016, the period of the report.
The “district could not demonstrate that it performed a reconciliation of cash, investments, warrants outstanding, revenues and expenditures to the county treasurer each month,” according to the auditor’s report.
The reconciliations available were not adequately performed, as some did not identify reconciling items. In others, staff responsible for reconciling and monitoring financial activity were not independent because they had access to cash deposits.
Journal entries were not adequately reviewed consistently during the audit period, and some entries and transactions weren’t recorded promptly. The report also found that La Center did not have an adequate review process over its financial reporting to ensure the information was accurate, complete and in compliance with the guidance.
The district did not properly account for its trust fund, and amounts reported in the financial statements did not agree to the general ledger or county treasurer activity.
La Center Superintendent Dave Holmes said the district worked throughout the past year to correct the issues, which he said were caused by high turnover at the business manager position, and different managers performing tasks differently.
“We have a business manager now who is a longtime district employee,” Holmes said. “She has spent the last 18 months going through state-approved training courses to get her up on uniqueness of school accounting.”
Holmes said the district has tightened up its internal controls, making sure that two people review everything done. He said that the district also started providing monthly financial reports to school board members, who can ask questions if anything doesn’t seem to add up.
The goal is for the district to be more transparent, Holmes said.
“Those audits are valuable to everybody,” he said. “We have a responsibility to monitor the taxpayers’ money and use it in a judicious manner. Moving forward, everything looks great.”
