The Howard County Public School System has received an unmodified opinion from its external auditor, SB & Company, which is included in the Annual Comprehensive Financial Report for fiscal 2023. The unmodified opinion signifies that the HCPSS financial statements are presented fairly and in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles.
In addition, the lack of any internal control findings from the auditors reflects HCPSS’ dedicated work to improve accounting procedures, address previous findings and strengthen the school system’s management of the budget.
The ACFR reported an unassigned fund balance of $10.2 million in the General Fund as of June 30. This is primarily due to higher than anticipated earnings on investments and lower than budgeted expenditures in the categories of transportation, special education and instructional salaries due to position salary lapse and turnover.
The fiscal 2023 audit and the ACFR continue to reflect HCPSS’ focus on improving the financial management of the school system by further strengthening the HCPSS Health and Dental Fund, reporting a Health and Dental Fund balance of $15.4 million, which is $9.4 million higher than the $5.95 million balance reported as of June 30, 2022.
Fiscal 2023 signified the first year that the school system operated without a structural deficit in the Health and Dental Fund. The full report is posted at www.hcpss.org/about-us/financial-reports/#cafr.