Elmhurst D205 Late In Unveiling Annual Audit

ELMHURST, IL – Elmhurst School District 205, which fell behind on its annual audit this year, is seeking a new firm to do the work.

The district has yet to present to the school board the audit for the budget year that ended more than eight months ago.

For the 2023-24 year, the report was ready in 5½ months.

Over the last six years, the district has hired Milwaukee-based Wipli to handle the annual audit, according to public records.

At Wednesday's meeting of the board's finance committee, Joe Bomquist, the district's assistant superintendent of finance, called for changing firms.

Last week, the district put out a request for proposals to auditing firms, stressing the need for timeliness, Blomquist said.

"This year, we are bringing it to you later than we normally do," he told the committee. "That has a ripple effect."

The district is required to present financial information to reporting agencies, he said.

"Even though the audit hasn't been presented to you, we have already shared it with those various groups that needed it in advance," said Blomquist, who started last July. "We want to make sure we're not in a position where we have to do that again. We want the board to hear it first."

State law requires school districts to finish audits by Oct. 15, but the state doesn't penalize those that miss the deadline, he said.

The district plans to present the audit to the full board at its March 24 meeting.

The village of La Grange is in an even worse situation. It is more than 10 months late with its audit, with the state listing it as delinquent.

La Grange officials hope to complete the document by the end of this month. They blame the situation on departures in their finance office.

While a private firm performs an audit, it needs the cooperation of village staff.