Republic R-III makes the grade with audit

KPM gives Republic School District best outcome, ’clean opinion’
 
The Republic Board of Education received positive results from the district’s fiscal year 2021 audit during the board’s meeting on Thursday, Dec. 16.
Presenting the audit findings was Rebecca Baker, a certified public account out of KPM CPAs in Springfield. She began her presentation by telling the board that the district had received an “unmodified, or clean opinion,” which was the highest rating possible.
During her presentation, Baker focused on four parts of the audit. The first part was the district’s fund balances for the General Fund, the Debt Services Fund, and the Capitol Projects Fund.
The audit showed that the General Fund Balance was $15,534,602 on June 30, 2021, an increase of $1,942,306 over the fiscal year. The fund’s balance was $13,592,296 at the beginning of the fiscal year on July 1, 2020. Baker stated that the district had enough funds in the General Fund to continue operations for three-and-a-half months if the district ceased to receive any more funding.
The Debt Service Fund had a balance of $5,744,267, an increase of $709,166 over the fiscal year; it’s balance at the beginning of the fiscal year was $5,035,101. Finally, the Capitol Projects Fund had a balance of $4,216,129, an increase of $605,108; its balance was $3,611,021 at the beginning of the fiscal year.

Federal audit
Next, Baker told the board that they had performed a federal compliance audit, which is required when a government body spends more than $750,000 in federal funds (the district spent $7,973,725 in federal funds during the fiscal year). Baker told the board that KPM had found nothing to report.
The third part of the audit Baker covered was an examination of the district’s assertions that they had “complied with the requirements of Missouri laws and regulations regarding budgetary and disbursement procedures.” The audit’s results stated that the district’s assertions are “fairly stated, in all material respects.”

Recommendations
Finally, Baker covered KPM’s recommendations for the district. The only recommendation presented in the audit was that the district “continue to evaluate its cybersecurity risks and take the necessary steps to reduce the risk of cybersecurity threats to their information systems.” The audit results stated that this should be done frequently due to ever-changing nature of technology and information systems.
Concluding her presentation, Baker also praised the district’s staff members who provided the necessary information for the audit, describing them as “cooperative.”

More info:
The results of the audit can be viewed online at the district's homepage at www.republicschools.org or in the Central Office between 7:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. on days when classes are in session.