The Newport Board of Education received a clean audit for the 2024/2025 school year.
Paul Maddox with Maddox & Associates attended the Feb. 25 meeting and gave the audit presentation. Local school districts are audited annually by independent certified public accountants.
“Based on the work we did, the testing that we did, the financial statements you gave me were fairly presented,” Maddox said. “The numbers are good numbers. We didn’t have any comments on internal controls and we tested your compliance with federal programs, and there were no issues with your federal compliance.”
Maddox explained that the financial statements they audit (assets, liabilities, fund balance/net position, revenues, expenditures, expenses) are the district’s. They are not the auditor’s financial statements. They were given to them by Newport Schools Director of Finance Kim Snapp and her staff. Likewise, the district’s internal controls (established procedures that ensure assets are safeguarded and financial records are accurate) are the district’s, not the auditors’.
“I like to tell all the boards and councils that I meet with that internal controls are important because it’s your money, but it’s your employees, it’s your policies that you set, so you need to make sure those things are sound so that nobody’s stealing your money.”
Maddox said that while the audit was for financial statements and not a forensic audit that looks for fraud, as a board, they should have oversight of district policies to keep internal controls strong.
“We are in Miss Snapp’s office and on her phone quite often,” Newport Board of Education Chair Ramona Malone said.
Maddox said they were not aware of any matters of fraud or illegal acts, and that if they had come across any, they would have brought them to the board immediately.
In the management letter, which is issued at the end of the audit to outline recommendations for strengthening internal controls or improving operational efficiency, Maddox said they gave feedback on some of the school activity funds. School activity funds are money collected and held by schools, separate from the main district budget, to fund student-led organizations, extracurriculars and things like field trips.
He said almost every district receives school activity fund comments due to turnover and retraining bookkeepers and secretaries.
“So, this happens,” he said. “I would just read those comments, talk to the schools and just make sure everybody’s on the same page with those as far as the numbers.”
This graph shows all of the district’s funds, including the general fund, construction fund, food service fund, capital fund, and special funds. It looks at assets, liabilities and the difference in that position. Maddox said the assets looked “pretty good” and “felt steady the last three years.” He said the district’s liability has decreased slightly over the last couple of years.
“Your net positions have increased or stayed steady in the last two years,” he said. “That’s a pretty good picture of financial health for the district.”
The full audit presentation can be viewed below.