Parma City Schools leaders point to perfect state audit as proof district has ‘turned the

PARMA, Ohio — Less than two years removed from being on fiscal caution, Parma City Schools was recently notified it received a perfect audit from the Ohio Auditor of State for the year ending in June 2020.

“When we started here, we weren’t just getting audited,” Parma City Schools Superintendent Charles Smialek said. “We were having meetings with the auditors to make sure we were solvent and doing everything we needed to do in terms of our financial procedures.

“I’m very proud to come from that point where we essentially had a state babysitter meeting with us to where we are now.”

The Parma City Schools earned a four-star rating from the Ohio Auditor of State. The designation means the highest achievement in open and transparent government.

“Our audit report shows that we’re closely managing our finances and are transparent with our public records.” Parma City Schools Treasurer Sean Nuccio said. “We’ll continue to be good stewards of taxpayer dollars and gain the trust of our communities.

“This perfect audit reflects the district’s commitment to excellence in fiscal accountability and management.”

The state entity also issued an unmodified opinion, which is where the auditor expresses an opinion that financial statements are presented in accordance with the applicable financial reporting framework.

In addition, the district didn’t receive a management letter, which often comes with an audit.

“The purpose of a management letter is to include minor citations and recommendations for best practices,” Nuccio said. “The auditors did not have any recommendations for improvement as we’re operating and managing the budget with excellent fidelity.

“For a district as large as Parma City Schools, this is a formidable accomplishment and one that proves our commitment to our taxpayers.”

Add Smialek, “This is my fifth year as the superintendent and one as an assistant superintendent. Management letters are always a fact of an audit. For us to not get one is huge praise for Sean Nuccio and our treasurer department.”

When reached about the Parma City School District’s lack of management letter, Ohio Auditor of State Press Secretary Allie Dumski said it’s not unusual for an audit to include such a document.

“I don’t want to say it’s uncommon for a well-run machine to get a management letter, but the fact that (Parma City Schools) didn’t get one means that there wasn’t anything that needed an additional explanation,” Dumski said. “I’d say that’s probably a good sign.”

The superintendent also credited the clean audit to the district’s decision — which was based on a resident suggestion years ago — to use a private auditor. Parma City Schools pays the Ohio-based CPA and business consulting firm Rea & Associates $28,000 annually for its audit services.

“My message is that we turned a corner,” Smialek said. “I understand there are still concerns about financial mishaps in our past, but this is an independent, private audit that comes in and looks through everything we do.

‘We came out literally spotless. We really want people to understand we take our goal of fiscal responsibility seriously and this is really a great example of progress.”

Read more news from the Parma Sun Post here.