State Finds No "Fraud, Waste, Or Mismanagement" In School District

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Woodstock, GA -- A recent state audit of the Cherokee County School District’s fiscal year 2014 operations has found no evidence of wrongdoing.

That’s according to Assistant Superintendent of Financial Management Ken Owen, who informed the School Board of the news at its Thursday, Dec. 3 meeting.

Owen referenced a closing meeting state auditors held with him and Superintendent of Schools Dr. Frank Petruzielo.

Per state law, the Georgia Department of Audits and Accounts “may at any time elect to perform a random audit on any state or local unit of government,” the school district said.

The state in November 2014 notified the system that its fiscal year 2014 operations would undergo an audit, “in part due to the actions of a former school board member,” the system added.

The audit concentrated on the financial statement work performed by Williamson and Company, the third-party, independent auditor hired by the School Board.

See also:

• Auditors Give Cherokee Schools “Clean” Report
• Auditor Stands By School District Finances
• School Board Rejects Outside Funding for Audit Presentation

After nearly six months of on-site review, an unprecedented experience for the district, the state found “no instance of fraud, waste or mismanagement,” the district added.

The state’s report concludes with an unmodified opinion, the most positive rating possible.

“The people from the state were very complimentary of [Mr. Owen],” School Board Chair Kyla Cromer said. “They were very impressed…and very satisfied with what we are doing.”

The state report’s findings refer only to the financial statements produced by Williamson and Company, and not to the staff or operations of the district’s Office of Financial Management.

All recommended changes to fiscal year 2014 financial statements have been made by Williamson and Company at no charge to district. All operational recommendations have been implemented (more than 75 percent were in place prior to completion of the state audit) or will be in place by the end of the current fiscal year, the district added.

Owen also noted that the school system hired an internal auditor this fiscal year, who began work on July 1, to continually review and test internal controls and assist in identifying additional opportunities for operational improvements.

Board member Kelly Poole, who is an accountant, asked as to whether the internal auditor would assist Cherokee County schools in developing its own financial statements. Owen stated that work is underway to do just that, beginning with a parallel process for fiscal year 2016 that will be compared to the independent auditor’s statements.

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