Internal audit: Two words that tend to elicit dread in even the most honest person, conjuring images of invasive bureaucrats spending months looking over a school district’s shoulder for cases of fraud and corruption.
Internal audits may uncover a district’s weak spots. But their true value is in demonstrating to the community that a school board is fulfilling its oversight function by enlisting independent and objective assessment of all school system operations and programs and identifying opportunities for improvement.
An effective internal audit can also protect board members and administrators by addressing issues before they become headlines.
“In years past, state law was silent as to the role of an internal auditor in public school districts,” TASB Legal Services Division Director Joy Baskin said. “In 2006, however, the Legislature passed Texas Education Code Section 11.170, which states that if a school district employs an internal auditor, the board of trustees selects the internal auditor, and the internal auditor reports directly to the board.”
In other words, all school district internal audits begin and end with the board, which both initiates internal audits and…
