Public school districts are in a highly volatile industry. R.S. Abrams & Co., LLP wants to be able to help clients prepare for and meet the challenges they will face in the years ahead.
Strategic Focus on School Districts
School districts should take note of the strategic commitment to Public school districts on the part of the firm’s senior management. Public school districts are one of the industries our firm’s Management Committee has selected for major long term investment. As a practical matter, that investment in Public school districts translates into the dedication of our top-quality talent, sustained attention and effort, and substantial resources to achieve certain key objectives:
- Meeting our own criteria, including outstanding personal service marked by leadership, technical expertise, and responsiveness
- Staying abreast of, and ahead of, emerging industry issues, so that we can assist our clients in understanding and responding to them
Our investment in the Public school district practice has led to an annual growth rate of 15 percent per year for the past three years.
Public School District Group
Our Public School District Group is charged with keeping our clients and our professionals informed about significant developments in the industry. We help to assess the impact of these developments on the management and operations of school districts through participation in industry associations and activities, special programs, and other means. Our industry program responds to the needs of our school district clients and includes a network of accounting and auditing, management and consulting professionals. The group consists of 3 partners and 20 professionals with specialties and expertise gained in many cases, through prior experience in the school district industry. Members of this group stay abreast of the latest in school district developments, policies, and issues statewide.
Industry Activities
Members of our Public School District Group are actively involved in a wide spectrum of industry activities. The key members of our firm are active members of the following professional societies:
- New York Society of CPA’s (NYSSCPA)
- American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA)
- New York State, Suffolk County and Nassau County Associations of School Business Officials (ASBO)
- Governmental Financial Officers Association (GFOA)
- School District Internal Auditors Alliance (SDIAA)
- Association of Internal Auditors (AIA)
Other Services
In addition to financial audits, other services we can provide to our clients cover all areas of interest and concern to school districts, including:
- Audits of cost based Pre-School Handicapped Programs
- Installation and administration of Flexible Spending Plans (Cafeteria Plans – IRC – 125), which provides considerable savings to Districts
- Quarterly audits of food service contractors
- Fraud Audits Management study of Business Office operations
- Fund Balance Projections Issuance of consent and citation of expertise to fiscal advisors
- Review of internal audits
- Assist districts in communication with rating agencies and preparation of official statements
- Internal Control Studies
- Issuance of consent and citation of expertise to fiscal advisors
- Internal Audits
- Management study of Business Office operations
- Financial Statement Preparation
- Internal Claims Auditing
Publications and Periodicals
We issue an annual brochure discussing all the current changes affecting school districts in the areas of accounting, tax and legislative issues. If there are any changes during the year, we promptly mail out a letter to our Districts to alert them and to discuss how to address these changes. The publications and periodicals our firm has published can be found on the articles page.