REPORT DIGESTREGIONAL OFFICE OF EDUCATION #55 FINANCIAL AUDIT For the Year Ended: June 30, 2007 Summary of Findings: Total this audit 1 Total last audit 1 Repeated from last audit 0 Release Date: June 26, 2008
State of
Office of the Auditor General WILLIAM G. HOLLAND AUDITOR GENERAL
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SYNOPSIS
{Expenditures and Revenues are summarized on the reverse page.} |
REGIONAL OFFICE OF EDUCATION #55
FINANCIAL AUDIT
For The Year Ended June 30, 2007
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FY 2007
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FY 2006
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TOTAL REVENUES |
$1,341,700 |
$1,435,335 |
Local Sources |
$111,255 |
$204,514 |
% of Total Revenues |
8.29% |
14.25% |
State Sources |
$956,638 |
$818,748 |
% of Total Revenues |
71.30% |
57.04% |
Federal Sources |
$273,807 |
$412,073 |
% of Total Revenues |
20.41% |
28.71% |
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TOTAL EXPENDITURES |
$1,386,463 |
$1,432,502 |
Salaries and Benefits |
$1,071,195 |
$1,032,012 |
% of Total Expenditures |
77.26% |
72.04% |
Purchased Services |
$211,615 |
$264,492 |
% of Total Expenditures |
15.26% |
18.46% |
All Other Expenditures |
$103,653 |
$135,998 |
% of Total Expenditures |
7.48% |
9.49% |
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TOTAL NET ASSETS |
$296,228 |
$340,991 |
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INVESTMENT IN
CAPITAL ASSETS |
$63,605 |
$58,964 |
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Percentages may not add due to
rounding. |
REGIONAL
SUPERINTENDENT |
During Audit Period: Honorable Gary Steinert Currently: Honorable Gary Steinert |
The Regional Office
of Education #55 did not have sufficient internal controls
over the financial reporting process. |
FINDINGS, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONSControls
Over Financial Statement Preparation
The Regional Office of Education #55
is required to maintain a system of controls over the preparation of
financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting
principles (GAAP). Regional Office
internal controls over GAAP financial reporting should include adequately
trained personnel with the knowledge and expertise to prepare and/or thoroughly
review GAAP based financial statements to ensure that they are free of
material misstatements and include all disclosures as required by the
Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB). The Regional Office of Education #55
did not have sufficient internal controls over the financial reporting
process. The Regional Office maintains
their accounting records on the cash basis of accounting. While the Regional
Office maintains controls over the processing of most accounting
transactions, there are not sufficient controls over the preparation of the
GAAP based financial statements for management or employees in the normal
course of performing their assigned functions to prevent or detect financial
statement misstatements and disclosure omissions in a timely manner.
In their review of the Regional Office’s accounting records, auditors noted
that numerous adjustments were required to present financial statements in
accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. Officials of the
Regional Office of Education #55 noted that they did not have adequate
funding to hire and/or train their accounting personnel in order to comply
with these requirements. (Finding
07-1, pages 9-10) The auditors recommended that, as
part of its internal control over the preparation of its financial
statements, including disclosures, the Regional Office of Education #55
should implement a comprehensive preparation and/or review procedure to
ensure that the financial statements, including disclosures, are complete and
accurate. Such procedures should be
performed by a properly trained individual(s) possessing a thorough
understanding of applicable generally accepted accounting principles, GASB
pronouncements, and knowledge of the Regional Office of Education’s
activities and operations. The Regional Office of
Education #55 responded that it understands the nature of this finding and
realizes that the circumstance is not unusual in an organization of this size. They note that the Regional Office accepts
the degree of risk associated with this condition because the added expense
of seeking additional accounting expertise to prepare and/or review financial
statements would take away from the funds available to provide educational
services for the schools in the region.
They note that they will continue to do the best they can with what
they have in resources. AUDITORS’ OPINION Our auditors state the Regional
Office of Education #55’s financial statements as of June 30, 2007 are fairly
stated in all material respects. _____________________________________ WILLIAM
G. HOLLAND, Auditor General WGH:KJM SPECIAL ASSISTANT AUDITORS Our special assistant auditors were Clifton
Gunderson, LLP. |
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