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School Audit Reference Manual Supplement To Come

By Suvro C. Banerjee-Lahiri, Quality Assurance Manager, Ethics

Each year, the State Education Department produces a publication titled Reference Manual for Audits of Financial Statements of New York State School Districts. The manual’s purpose is to provide guidelines to school districts and their auditors in conducting each district’s annual audit process. The manual is updated every year to provide the latest information so that school districts may receive quality audits, and is distributed at conferences sponsored by the New York State Association of School Business Officials.

The most recent edition of the manual, which was last revised in May, does not contain up-to-date information for auditors regarding the new legislation Governor George Pataki signed into law in July that aims to provide greater accountability of taxpayer dollars by ensuring that district finances receive greater oversight by school board members, district internal auditors and audit committees.

The 2005 edition of the SED’s Audit Reference Manual mentions that new legislation is in the works, but does not specifically offer guidelines on coping with the recent changes to procedure.

“Several proposals have been advanced which could result in legislative changes affecting the school district audit environment. At the time this edition of the Reference Manual was finalized, none of the proposals had resulted in final legislation, although some have been incorporated in pending Senate and Assembly bills,” the State Education Department states in the current edition of the reference manual.

Mike Abbot, Director of Audit Services for the State Education Department, said that the SED will be releasing a short supplementary document to the 2005 Audit Reference Manual sometime this month.

“It will provide guidance to auditors regarding the new legislation, including an overview of the new requirements and a timeframe in which those requirements become effective,” Abbot said of the forthcoming supplement. He added that the SED would publish an additional, more comprehensive guidance document later in the year, most likely to be made available in October or November. The current version of the manual is available online at www.emsc.nysed.gov/mgtserv/gemsho.htm.