‘Human error’ leads to $8.9M deficit at Catholic school board
"Human error" and gaps in financial reporting are being blamed by Toronto’s Catholic school board for an almost-$9 million budget deficit this year, instead of the previously projected surplus of nearly $300,000.
"Human error" and gaps in financial reporting are being blamed by Toronto’s Catholic school board for an almost-$9 million budget deficit this year, instead of the previously projected surplus of nearly $300,000.
On Thursday, the TCDSB announced that the final financial statement for the 2013-2014 fiscal year ending August 31, 2014 will show an in-year deficit of $8.9 million – a significant change from the $292,000 in-year surplus approved by the board of trustees in June 2013.
"Board staff has taken full responsibility for these accounting errors," Director of Education Angela Gauthier said in a statement released Thursday. "This was not the result of improper conduct or fraud on the part of anyone at the school board."
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The situation, the media release further states, is not related to any action or decision made by board trustees in their role as governors, but is due to a combination of "inaccurate calculations made through human error during budget preparations by board staff, and gaps in financial reporting."
The unanticipated deficit position – discovered by the board’s finance team while preparing financial statements for the TCDSB’s November Audit Committee meeting – was reported to the board of trustees on Nov. 5.
TCDSB staff is now working with Ministry of Education officials to formulate a deficit recovery action plan to return the board to a positive fiscal position "as quickly as possible", and has accepted the government’s offer to provide the assistance of a financial consultant.
The board will also rely on the outside expertise on its Audit Committee to develop processes and procedures to ensure these accounting errors do not happen again, the release states.
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"Our top priority is to ensure the deficit does not adversely impact students and teachers in the classroom," TCDSB Chair Jo-Ann Davis said in a statement. "We remain committed to maintaining system-wide stability without compromising student achievement and well being."
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