Southwestern Central School Board members received favorable news about the district’s finances.

On Tuesday, the board was presented with audit results from Buffamante, Whipple and Buttafaro, the district’s independent auditor.

BWB representative James Alexander said the district was presented a clean, unmodified audit report that shows the district is in compliance with New York state.

Although the district received a clean audit, there were two items, in accordance with government auditing standards, that were flagged; one was a deficiency with internal control over financial reporting, and the other was noncompliance with the unassigned fund balance.

“If we identify something relating to your internal controls or an instance of noncomplaince, we (BWB) are actually required to communicate that to you in writing,” Alexander said.

Alexander said the district uses BWB to perform the district’s audit, and BWB also provides assistance in preparing the district’s financial statements.

Alexander noted, that although an auditor may continue to provide such assistance both now and in the future, the district should continue to review and accept both proposed adjusting journal entries and footnote disclosures, along with the draft financial statements.

“The district has received, reviewed and accepted all journal entries, footnote disclosures and draft financial statements proposed for the current year audit and will continue to review similar information in future years. Further, the district believes it has a thorough understanding of these financial statements and has the ability to make informed judgments based on these financial statements,” the board said in a prepared statement.

The unassigned fund balance should not be in excess of 4%. It is a state requirement, Alexander told board members.

The district’s 2022-23 budget was about $30.8 million.

The district’s unassigned fund balance as of June 30, 2023, was $1,584,889 which was about 4.79% of the 2022-23 school budget. The district, Alexander noted should continue to monitor fund balance throughout the year and continue to review its options with regards to reservation and designation of the fund balance.

“The district realizes that its unassigned fund balance as of June 30, 2023 was in excess of the New York state mandated 4% level. The District has and will continue to monitor fund balance in the future and will review all options with regards to reservation and designation of fund balance,” the board said in another prepared statement.

No other issues were found, Alexander said.