Pembina Hills School Division delivers clean internal audit

BARRHEAD - Pembina Hills School Division's internal audit came back with straight As.

Veronica Lindquist, the division's assistant secretary-treasurer, delivered the internal audit assurance report for the 2023-2024 school year.

“Eleven internal audits were conducted. Reports were found to be in good order and are all in compliance,” said Lindquist.

“We look at the areas of finance, financial systems, internal and external reporting requirements, insurance, health and safety, records management, and record retention,” said Lindquist.

Payments to the division were equally divided between online payments and cash/cheque payments.

Payments totalled $1.3 million for the 2023-2024 school year, reported Lindquist.

Online payments during the 2023-2024 school year increased to 50 per cent of all payments from 39 per cent in the previous year.

Health and Safety included analyzing fire drills, lockdown drills, safety inspections, safety meetings, and maintained AED machines.

There were no incidents where AED machines were needed in the Pembina Hills School Division in the 2023-2024 school year, said Lindquist.

All Pembina Hills staff are required to complete online safety training within specific timelines each year.

In the 2023-2024 school year there were a total of 4,349 online safety courses completed by everyone from school bus drivers to teachers to admin staff.

New staff members are required to complete 17 online safety courses as part of their orientation.

Enrolment verification is another portion of the internal audit assurance process.

“The records retention process, enrolment verification, student records and the agreement management process,” said Lindquist. “The internal auditing involves reviewing and analyzing business processes and recommending potential solutions.

“We're trying to ensure that assets are adequately safeguarded, that revenues and expenses are properly recorded, and that we are compliant with laws and regulations and effectiveness of internal controls in our schools.

“We need to follow the objectives to ensure accountability for publicly-raised funds, leading to assist the schools with business functions, and improving internal controls.”