EDLD 5342 Week 4 Part 5

Week Four Assignment, Part 5 – Interview with Superintendent and/or Business Manager on Financial Audits
After talking and emailing with the Assistant Superintendent over the Department of Business Operations of my district and reviewing the last two Comprehensive Annual Financial Reports for 2010-2011 and 2009-2010 (Retrieved from the internet, May 1, 2012 http://www.garlandisd.net/departments/business_operations/financialreport.asp ), I have a clearer understanding of the audit process for school finance from the 13^th largest district in Texas. The external auditor is selected by request of proposals and the boards of trustees evaluate the proposals and pick the finalist by a criterion that is established by law. The auditor is a firm of licensed certified public accountants that uses generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) and generally accepted auditing standards. In my district we have an internal auditor (differentiated staff member) that receives the external auditors request for procedures to follow and documents to be examined. The internal auditor is the “appropriate district personnel are available to the team to answer questions or clarify district procedures” (Dr. Stephens, EDLD 5342 Week 4 Lecture p30). The external auditor issues a report that is given to the school district in writing and the internal auditor presents it to the Board and public at a Board Meeting and then it is posted on the website (www.garlandisd.net) for all to see and a copy of the report is submitted to the Texas education Agency.