Audit Executive Summary The attached documents—the newly finalized Business Office Procedures Manual and the Policy and Procedures Review Report from Bonadio & Co., LLP—confirm our commitment to robust financial operations and internal controls. These artifacts reflect our ongoing effort to ensure transparency and accountability in all District fiscal matters. The Procedures Manual is a guide for our key financial processes, ensuring every member of the Business Office follows a consistent, well-documented protocol. ● Focus on Budget Governance: The core of the manual details the procedures for Annual Budget Development and Review, reinforcing the Board's authority and my responsibility to craft the budget within the Superintendent’s strategic framework. ● Operational Clarity: The manual explicitly defines the Roles and Responsibilities for staff across the Business Office, which is crucial for internal control and workflow efficiency. The Bonadio report provides valuable, forward-looking advice on strengthening the policy backbone for our current administrative practices. As noted in the report, pursuant to Commissioner’s Regulations 170.12(e)(4)(i), these are best practice suggestions and are not considered findings requiring a formal Corrective Action Plan. The recommendations center on reinforcing policies for greater clarity and public transparency. It is important to note that the detailed steps for these practices are currently outlined in our Regulations Manual. The suggestions are about elevating these critical processes into formal Board Policy should the district wish to. Areas for Policy Clarification: 1. Formalizing Purchasing Thresholds: ○ The firm noted that our official Board Policies (5410, 5411, 5412) lack a specific, Board-approved listing for the number of quotes required for services that fall below the General Municipal Law (GML) 104-b minimums. ○ Suggested Action: The report suggests the Board may wish to approve and append a schedule of these price thresholds to Policy 5411. This step would provide vendors and staff with absolute clarity, transforming a standard practice detailed in our regulations into an official policy requirement.
2. Explicit Delegation of On-Boarding Responsibility: ○ The reviewers observed that there is currently no policy that explicitly delegates payroll or onboarding responsibilities between Human Resources and the Business Department ○ Suggested Action: The report advises that we consider developing a high-level personnel policy to officially outline the responsibilities and expectations of these key positions regarding employee onboarding. This would formalize the delegation of duties that are currently detailed in our regulations. These suggestions are aligned with our goal of continuous improvement, ensuring that our foundational policies fully support the comprehensive procedures detailed in our new manual. This work is laying the foundation for the 2025-26 internal audit work that will focus on areas of risk and operational efficiencies.