Five years after a critical audit from the State of New York Office of the State Comptroller the Lake Shore School District has implemented internal controls and audit functions correcting deficiencies and following recommendations of the auditors.

In October of this past year, auditors returned to the school district to review the District’s progress in implementing recommendations. The auditors interviewed district staff and inspected documents related to the issues originally identified.

The follow-up report, issued on December 2, 2011, noted that the District implemented 14 of the 15 recommendations and partially implemented the remaining recommendation.

The 2006 report cited the need for greater governance responsibilities by establishing and maintaining a control environment that supports ethical behavior and conformance to controls.

 “We are pleased that we have implemented the recommendations outlined in the 2006 report. I would like to commend the Board of Education for adopting policies and procedures to protect the assets of the district and the investments of our school community. The Board and administrative team have been diligent in implementing improvements to how we do business on a day-to-day basis creating an environment of protocols and accountability,” Superintendent of Schools James Przepasniak said.

The December report cites that corrective actions have been fully implemented in the areas previously flagged: recovery of improper payments, employee compensation authorization, payroll approval, monitoring of employee compensation, payroll program access, guidance for the claims auditor, travel policy, signed warrant verification, inventory policies, inventory records, safeguarding assets, perpetual inventory records and analytical reviews.

Since the original audit in 2006, Mr. Przepasniak assumed the superintendency, Daniel Pacos has been appointed as the assistant superintendent for administration and finance within the district and the district has moved payroll functions to the Erie 2 Chautauqua Cattaraugus BOCES Central Business Office. There have also been reassignment and separation of duties within the business office and district office.

The Lake Shore Central School District Board of Education will accept audit at their meeting on January 17^th.

“The implementation of the audit’s recommendations has changed how the district does business. Ultimately, these improvements benefit the student and the taxpayers of the district by ensuring that dollars invested in the district allocated appropriately,” Mr. Przepasniak said.