Brandon Tanous with the firm Weaver Tidwell presented a summary version of the audit's findings and recommendations Monday night.
"We had six core themes with the majority of the findings rated high risk or high priority. We had 70 plus recommended actions to strengthen the budgeting and spending controls across 10 top priority actions," he said.
The six core themes dealt with a variety of areas from documentation to internal controls to board oversight. Among the most pressing actions identified by the firm: establishing standardized accounting procedures, creating a formal budget monitoring system and a review of travel policies, among others.
While some corrective actions are already underway, FCPS Interim Chief Financial Officer Kyna Koch said the board needs to gear up for a lengthy process.
"We're not going to wrap this up in the next six months. This is going to take a really long time. There's a lot in here to digest, but we will be approaching it from the highest priority items that were identified by Weaver," she explained.
School board chair Tyler Murphy added that the outside audit isn't a cure-all for the district, which faces a multi-million dollar deficit at the start of the new fiscal year.
"This is a crucial step, but it's not the (sic) finality," he noted. "We did not commission the Weaver audit just to get this report and then set it on a shelf. This really has to be a roadmap."
A roadmap that Acting Superintendent Bill Bradford said will serve as a "clear, honest baseline" as the district looks to rebuild trust at a time when many parents remain deeply skeptical.