District receives ‘highest form of assurance possible’, auditor says

By Megan Kelley
Staff Writer
LAKE ORION — The Lake Orion Community Schools Board of Education received the presentation for their annual audit during their regular meeting on Nov. 9.
Jenny Kolbow from Plante Moran presented the district’s audit information on the fiscal year ending June 30, 2022. Plante Moran is an auditing, accounting, tax and consulting firm,
As part of the audit, Plante Moran evaluated the district’s internal control processes and procedures and did not have any findings or deficiencies noted, Kolbow said.
Additionally, the audit also showed that the district has been compliant with both the bond funds and sinking fund.
In both the financial statement audit and federal programs audit, the district received an unmodified opinion, the highest form of assurance possible.
This means LOCS is considered a low-risk auditee, Kolbow said.
“I wanted to congratulate the district and thank John (Fitzgerald, district assistant superintendent of business and finance) and Andrea (Curtis, district director of business and finance) and the entire business office staff (for) another successful and smooth audit,” Kolbow said. “This was a challenging year and the district demonstrated continued focus on integrity and accountability in financial reporting and receiving an unmodified opinion with no findings is something to be proud of.”
According to data provided by Plante Moran, the district has received $14,703 in non-recurring COVID-19 relief funding and as of June 30, 2022 had expended $10,653.
At year end on June 30, 2022 the district’s total general fund revenue was $94,648,001, with total general fund expenditures at $94,528,413.
According to Kolbow, because LOCS is a service organization, their largest cost is employee compensation. This cost is reflected in the audit where $45,109,991 is spent on salaries and $24,975,708 is spent on benefits, or about 74 percent of total district operating costs.
From July 1, 2021 to June 30, 2022, the district’s fund balance increased by $119,588 — 9.3 percent of total expenditures, or about to 4.8 weeks of operations, according to district documents.