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Schools Accounting Committee By Thomas Zuber Recent events have drawn wide attention to public school district audits, with legislators proposing bills meant to increase the quality of such work in New York state. The New York State Society of CPAs, through its Public Schools Committee, has for some time worked behind the scenes to train, educate and work together with school and state officials toward that end. The Public Schools Committee has met regularly with representatives of the State Education Department, the New York State Comptroller’s Office and the Association of School Business Officials (ASBO) for more than 30 years. And the committee’s work goes beyond this. It provides important services to public schools, most significantly by developing and issuing the Reference Manual for Audits of Financial Statements of New York State School Districts, which is published annually and utilized as a guide for districts and their auditors in the audit process. Its goal is to help create quality audits. It focuses on the need for school officials and board members to understand the basic requirements and limitation of audits, from the engagement of an auditor through the filing of various audit reports with the appropriate regulatory bodies. The committee also takes part in training school district auditors and business officials at annual financial management, accounting, and auditing workshops in Batavia, Syracuse, Long Island, Suffern, Albany, and Lake Placid. For more than 15 years these workshops have kept auditors up to date on changes to Yellow Book, GASB, SAS, and other accounting, reporting and auditing standards. Working closely with the SED and the Comptroller’s Office, these workshops allow state officials to discuss contingent budget requirements, reserve funding and legislative activity. Workshops in 2004 included reviews of the reference manual; discussions on the implications of the Government Accountability Office’s independence rules for school district audits; employee retirement contributions; the State Aid Management System; and fund balance management issues. There were also discussions about fraud, and updates on IRS activities and developments in the New York state legislature. Past years’ workshops have also covered GASB exposure drafts and statements; financial condition indicators and identifying financial trends; building aid and capital projects; and budgeting. Most of the committee members also work with ASBO and the Association of School Boards to do presentations at the annual New York ASBO Conference and summer workshops. Members give presentations on internal controls, audit preparation, treasurer training, payroll issues, internal audit functions and more. Agendas for any of these workshops can be obtained from ASBO or the Association of School Boards. A tremendous amount of time is involved in the training and education of auditors, school business officials, treasurers and board members to be current on all the standards and regulations involving auditing and financial management of school districts. For CPAs and business officials who want to participate and learn about school district audits, this committee is a great education tool. Many of its members have devoted a lifetime to developing guidelines and educating those individuals involved with school district management and auditing, in order to help maintain quality audits. Thomas Zuber is a manager with the firm of Raymond F. Wager CPA, P.C., in Rochester, and a member of the NYSSCPA and its Public Schools Committee. |
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