North Cook News

An accounting firm found no issues during a recent audit of the Northbrook School District 28 finances; Don Shaw, a certified public accountant with Lauterbach & Amen LLP; said.

Shaw presented his findings of the annual audit to Northbrook's Board of Education during an Oct. 27 meeting.

"Before I start, I would like to thank Jessica and her team for all their help in making this a successful audit year," he said during the meeting, which was posted on YouTube. "Without their help, this won't be possible."

Shaw said the district received the highest opinion possible, meaning there were no issues with internal controls or the numbers presented. During the meeting, he also gave a rundown and explanation of the packet that was returned to the district. 

Shaw pointed out that the main operating fund of the district, which includes education and working cash funds, was approximately $18 million. The general fund saw an increase of $1.9 million in the current year, but it is still below the minimum amount for the fund balance per policy, so that will be a focus this year and into next. 

Shaw also explained the four main portions of the letter document distributed to the board. It included a recommendation for changing how the district does their vendor reports, which will go into effect next year. An additional point highlighted a new change that was recommended two years ago and implemented this year, another was about the general fund being below minimum levels, and the last was a point about the transportation fund being over budget by $275,000, which they will examine again next year.