An Illinois Auditor General’s report released recently in Springfield found that Regional Office of Education (ROE) No. 56, Will County, lacked sufficient internal procedures for financial reporting, financial accounting, journal entry management and grant requirements.
Will County received $4.93 million in tax revenue in FY 2015, reported the audit. The Regional Office of Education No. 56 spent $4.92 million, of which $3.01 million (61 percent) was outlaid for salaries and benefits, it stated.
The audit cited the district in the area of financial reporting for inadequate oversight in accounting transactions, stating ”there are not sufficient controls over the preparation of GAAP based financial statements for management or employees in the normal course of performing their assigned functions to prevent or detect … misstatements and disclosure omissions in a timely manner.”
Additionally, “they did not have adequate funding to hire and/or train their accounting personnel in order to comply with these requirements,” the audit stated, noting that this aspect was first documented in 2010 and recommending that the district invest resources in additional training.
ROE No. 56 responded that it “accepts the degree of risk associated with this condition because the additional expense to seek outside accounting expertise … would take away from the funds available to provide educational services.”
For journal entries, the Auditor General’s office reported inadequate internal controls for the prevention of error and/or fraud, recommending supporting documentation and independent review.
ROE No. 56’s financial accounting was out of compliance, the audit said. “One fund was out of balance by $776,” stated the Auditor General’s office. The district revealed that it was using out-of-date, possibly unreliable software and pledged to acquire upgraded technology.
Finally, the audit said, Regional Office of Education No. 56 was noncompliant with grant requirements, specifically with filing procedures for quarterly expenditure documentation regarding Title I and truancy alternative programs, together with their respective budgets.
Kemper CPA Group LLP, which has several offices in Illinois, prepared the audit.
Shawn T. Walsh is regional superintendent for Will County, which oversees 29 public school districts.
Alerts Sign-up