FOR RELEASE:

DiNapoli's Office Completes School Audits

New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli today announced his office completed audits of the Florida Union Free School District and the Hoosic Valley Central School District.

“My office’s audits of school districts and BOCES help schools improve their financial management practices,” DiNapoli said. “These audits are tools for schools to make sure proper policies and procedures are in place to protect taxpayer dollars and provide students with the best possible education.”

Florida Union Free School District – Internal Controls Over Claims Auditing and Contractual Expenditures (Orange County)
The board appointed a claims auditor to audit and approve claims prior to payment, but the claims auditor did not always perform an adequate review. Auditors found she did not always compare invoices to the contracts or bid documents. During the audit period, the district paid $961,347 to 10 buildings and grounds vendors, $123,371 to three legal services vendors, and $160,254 to four printing and mailing vendors for goods and services. The district did not seek competition for two of the buildings and grounds vendors and did not have a comprehensive contract for a third.

Hoosic Valley Central School District – Internal Controls Over Information Technology (Rensselaer County)
Auditors found that district officials have not implemented measures to encrypt sensitive data located on the district’s servers, and they were not able to determine whether the district’s third-party vendors were adequately protecting sensitive data. The district had an inadequate segregation of duties within the business office because the purchasing agent served as the system administrator for the automated financial accounting software. The treasurer, senior account clerk, and business administrator had full access rights to the computer system. The district’s audit logs did not contain sufficient information to allow an adequate review of the system users’ actions, and district officials did not review the audit logs. District officials have not performed an IT risk assessment nor have they developed security training to inform users about computer policies and standards.

To view the audits above, visit: www.osc.state.ny.us/localgov/audits/index.htm. If you have any questions or would like a comment from the Comptroller’s office regarding the audits above, please call Mark Johnson at 518-474-4015 or email mjohnson@osc.state.ny.us.

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