What BREC says about its 2022 audit

External auditors have OK’d BREC’s 2022 financial statements as the agency aims to catch up in filing its annual audits with the state.

Eisner Amper, formerly Postlethwaite & Netterville, submitted an unmodified opinion on BREC’s 2022 financial statements, meaning auditors found the statements were fairly presented and free of material misstatements, BREC announced Monday. The Louisiana Legislative Auditor has yet to finalize the audit.

In a prepared statement, the agency says while some opportunities for improvement were identified in the audit, most were anticipated by BREC’s new Chief Financial Officer, Don Johnson.

Auditors noted the agency needed to improve timely reconciliations and audits, as well as needed policies for consistently, accurately and timely reporting on construction-in-progress assets and federal grants.

BREC also reported a number of thefts in 2022, which were reported to police at the time.

The agency released its 2021 audit earlier this year, marking the organization’s first audit in nearly three years. That audit revealed misappropriation of funds during that fiscal year, including an employee using a company card to make nearly $67,000 in personal purchases.

Before 2020, BREC had submitted annual audits consistently dating back to 1997. Wilson attributed the delayed audits to a mix of controllable and uncontrollable factors, including the reconciliation of bank accounts and the death of BREC’s former CFO.

BREC officials told Daily Report earlier this month that the agency hopes to catch up and complete all pending audits, including the 2024 audit, by June 30, 2025. Work on the 2023 audit is anticipated to begin within the next few weeks.

“We fully anticipate having our audits back on track this year and have put measures in place to ensure that this doesn’t happen again in the future” says BREC’s Superintendent Corey K. Wilson in a prepared statement.