 |
|
Audit Buzz Newsletter
January 2023
|
In this issue of Audit Buzz, we promote the Fraud, Waste and Abuse hotline, highlight the Office of Auditor General (OAG) Fiscal Year 2022 Annual Report, summarize the status of current engagements and provide an introduction to school audits in the Knowledge Hive. Stay up to date with OAG's current and future work by subscribing to Audit Buzz.
Prior editions of Audit Buzz are archived here on OAG's website.
As always, we appreciate the cooperation and courtesies extended to our staff by Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) management and staff during all past, current, and future audit engagements.
Did you Know?
See Something, Say Something: Fraud, Waste, and Abuse Hotline
FCPS provides a way for employees and the general public to report any suspected wrongdoing related to FCPS’ assets and resources. Reporting will help ensure taxpayers’ money is spent in the proper way -- on our students’ education. It can also help improve employees’ work environment. Reports can be made in person, by phone, by email, or online. All reports are taken seriously, and every effort will be made to review the reports according to the applicable laws, codes, policies, or regulations. Staff can assist the reviews by providing as much information as possible. Please visit the Auditor General webpage for more information.
Engagement and Office Updates
OAG Fiscal Year (FY) 2022 Annual Report
The OAG FY22 Annual Report was presented in the January 10 School Board Work Session. The annual report is an initiative started in FY19 to raise awareness of OAG’s mission and accomplishments, highlight our internal audit, and summarize our results.
OAG would like to thank members of the Fairfax County School Board and Audit Committee for their continued support, as well as FCPS Superintendent and Leadership Team for fostering a collaborative work environment that promotes Fairfax County Public Schools achievement of its strategic goals, particularly in the area of resource stewardship.
Current Engagement Update
- The January 18 Audit Committee meeting was cancelled. OAG plans to present the following agenda items at the February Audit Committee meeting:
- In addition to the ongoing FY23 Continuous Monitoring, the FY23 IT Cybersecurity Audit is currently in process.
Knowledge Hive
Introduction to School Audits
Fairfax County School Board is responsible for ensuring compliance with laws and regulations, by visitation or other means, and for ensuring efficient operations (Code of Virginia 22.1-79). To aid the School Board in fulfilling their responsibilities, the School Board has formed an Audit Committee and has established the Office of Auditor General (OAG), whose reporting responsibility is to the Audit Committee. OAG is authorized to examine all operations of the school division and have access to all personnel and records.
SCHOOL AUDIT PROCESSES
There are three types of audits that are conducted in relation to the schools. Those audits are:
- Continuous Monitoring
- Business Process Audits
- Local School Activity Fund (LSAF) Audit
These audits are completed based on OAG’s approved fiscal year’s audit plan.
1. Continuous Monitoring
The objectives of Continuous Monitoring are:
- Assessing compliance with applicable regulations and policies
- Determining if internal controls are adequate and functioning as intended, and
- Determining if transactions are reasonable and do not appear to be fraudulent
Schools are tested on a quarterly basis. At the beginning of the fiscal year, all schools are randomly chosen and divided into quarters to be tested. All transactions for the chosen schools are put into one bucket, and from the available transactions a random sample is chosen. OAG then reaches out to the schools and requests support to be provided electronically. From the same sample of schools, we randomly select ten schools to visit each quarter. During the school visits, OAG test procurement card and bank account reconciliations, and review physical assets that are kept on property (procurement cards, check stock, and safe).
Once testing is completed, schools will receive a memo with the results. All results related to the non-appropriated funds, are reported to the Audit Committee within the Local School Activity Fund Audit report.
2. Business Process Audits (BPA)
The objectives of BPA are similar to the Continuous Monitoring. The scope of the audit includes transactions that occurred during the current fiscal year.
These audits are completed on an ad-hoc basis depending on results from Continuous Monitoring testing, change in staff of the principal and finance technician or administrative assistant position, or as situations are deemed necessary. BPA can occur at any point throughout the school year.
During this audit, OAG will review appropriated and non-appropriated transactions, monthly reconciliations, cash receipts, cash deposits, and physical assets. These visits will last all day.
3. LSAF End of Year Audit
The objective of the LSAF audit is to verify that local school funds and year-end cash reporting are not materially misstated. This audit begins around mid-July and does not require additional work from the finance technician or administrative assistant unless clarification is needed.
Before the end of the school year, OAG sends out an Internal Control Questionnaire and Audit Representation Letter to be completed by the school and returned to OAG.
You can learn more about OAG and school audits in this online training.
Upcoming Events
Next Audit Committee Meeting
The next Audit Committee meeting will be held in February 2023. Please refer to BoardDocs for meeting information once it becomes available.
Fraud, Waste, and Abuse Hotline:
(571) 423-1333 (anonymous voicemail)
InternalAudit@fcps.edu (email is not anonymous)
|
