Internal Audit Department
Role and Responsibilities
The objective of the Internal Audit Department is to assist the Board of Education and District Administration in the effective discharge of their responsibilities by furnishing them with recommendations on strengthening internal controls of activities reviewed. The Internal Audit Department is responsible for providing reasonable assurance that internal controls are operating the way they are designed to work to support daily operations. The Internal Audit team works with objectivity, being independent from the daily operations to deliver an unbiased viewpoint and fairly assess, with integrity, how processes are working. Auditors provide a valuable perspective by being able to analyze current processes to highlight what is working well and where there is room for improvement.
An internal audit engagement focuses on:
Effectiveness and efficiency of operations
Reliability and integrity of financial and operational information
Safeguarding of assets
Compliance with state and federal laws
Internal controls are important because they reduce the risk of fraud, prevent loss of funds and resources, and help to ensure that the District meets its goals and operates with integrity.The Internal Auditor provides the Audit Committee with an annual work plan for approval by the Board of Education. The plan includes financial, operational and compliance-related audits. A written report is prepared after each audit, which provides recommendations and management action plans on how controls will be strengthened. The Internal Auditor may deviate from the annual Internal Audit Plan and redirect audit resources to a new area if it is deemed appropriate and necessary by the Audit Committee. The results of each audit engagement are reported to the Audit Committee.
Reporting Structure
The Internal Auditor, also referred to as the Chief Audit Executive (CAE), reports to the Board of Education and reports functionally to the Audit Committee. This reporting relationship provides the highest level of organizational independence for the internal audit function.