Several internal audits planned this year for the Atlanta Public School system will not be completed because of the Coronavirus Crisis.
In an annual report to the board, Connie Brown, the district’s executive director, said that six scheduled audits have been canceled. Five audits of unnamed schools would not be completed because of school closures related to COVID-19, limiting access to school buildings. The audit team also had trouble accessing documents and personnel instrumental to the auditing process.
“Like many audit organizations, the COVID-19 crisis has impacted the completion of our plan,” Brown said at a recent monthly board meeting, according to an article in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “It has resulted in audit start delays and cancellations. We’ve had restricted access to physical site locations and access to key staff and personnel. We’ve also had restricted access to needed support documentation for field work completion.”
The office has completed 14 audits, including that of seven schools, and has two audit currently in process. One addition audit related to transportation has been postponed.
The audit cancellations result in less scrutiny over the cash-management practices of the schools, but board member Leslie Grant said that the audits generally do not heavily influence the financial impact of cash-mishandling, but rather safeguard the school district’s reputation.
The canceled audits may be resumed in the upcoming year, depending on the status of school closures, according to Brown. 
Stephanie Liu is assistant editor at Internal Audit 360°