|
The June 30, 2008 CAFR was prepared in accordance with Governmental Accounting Standards Board Statement 34 requirements. As a reminder, the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) is the primary authority for establishing accounting rules for governmental units. GASB issues statements that (a) make up the “Generally Accepted Accounting Principles” (GAAP) for state and local governmental units and (b) describe the rules that state and local governmental units must follow in order to receive an unqualified or clean audit opinion on their annual financial report. In June of 1999, GASB adopted the most sweeping financial reporting changes in its history. GASB Statement 34, also known as the “financial reporting model”, has significantly revised capital assets and infrastructure (i.e., roads, sidewalks, sewer systems, etc.) reporting requirements. The effective date for implementing the new model depends on the financial size of the agency (measured by the dollar volume of revenues/expenditures) and its fiscal year.
The June 30, 2008 CAFR has been submitted to the Association of School Business Officials International (ASBO) and the Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada (GFOA) for certificates of excellence in financial reporting award consideration. The district has earned these awards for fourteen consecutive fiscal years (FY94-FY-07).
Per ASBO and GFOA program standards, the CAFR consists of four sections: introductory, financial, statistical and compliance. The INTRODUCTORY SECTION contains a transmittal letter, a list of the Board members and principal officials, the district’s organizational chart, and the ASBO and GFOA certificates awarded for the 2006-07 financial report. The FINANCIAL SECTION includes the independent auditor’s report, management’s discussion and analysis, basic financial statements, notes to the basic financial statements, combining and individual fund statements and schedules, and supplementary information. The STATISTICAL SECTION includes several tables of unaudited data providing financial history of the Board as well as demographics and other informative statistics pertaining to Guilford County. The school district is required to undergo an annual single audit in conformity with the provisions of the Single Audit Act Amendments of 1996, and the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, Circular A-133, Audits of State, Local Governments, and Non-profit Organizations. The COMPLIANCE SECTION includes the compliance and internal control reports, the single audit reports, the schedule of findings and questioned costs, the summary schedule of prior year audit findings, corrective action plan(s) and the schedule of expenditures of federal and state awards.
We are proud to report that our independent auditors, Dixon Hughes PLLC, have expressed an unqualified opinion on the general purpose financial statements of the Guilford County Board of Education for the year ended June 30, 2008. An unqualified, or “clean”, opinion indicates the financial statements have been prepared on a consistent basis with prior years using GAAP (generally accepted accounting principles), and such statements fairly present the Board’s financial position, cash flows and results of operations. We are also pleased to report that (a) no material internal control weaknesses were noted; and (b) no reportable instances of noncompliance with provisions of applicable laws/regulations/contracts/grants were noted. One finding regarding our School Food Service Program; one finding regarding the More at Four Program; as well as one finding in our State Public School Fund were noted for the year ended June 30, 2008. The findings, auditor recommendations and management responses are found on pages 131-132 of the CAFR. The Corrective Action Plan for these findings is on page 134. The four prior year audit findings regarding our School Food Service Program and State Public School Fund have been corrected (see page 133).
A representative from Dixon Hughes will present the audit report during our February 10 meeting. Any questions that you may have regarding the audit report will be fielded by the Dixon Hughes representative and appropriate members of the Financial Services staff.
I would also like to take this opportunity to acknowledge the efforts and dedication of the Financial Services staff of Guilford County Schools and express thanks to the Board of Education for supporting the financial operation of the school system in a dedicated and responsible manner.
A copy of the comprehensive annual financial report (CAFR) of the Guilford County Board of Education for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2008 is located in the lobby at each administrative office. No electronic copy is available at this time.
|
