The Excelsior Springs School District “had a clean audit” of the 2022 fiscal year (FY), auditor Brad Steele told district leaders when the Board of Education convened recently. Speaking on behalf of the Richmond-based accounting firm Westbrook & Co. P.C., Steele explained clean audits are desirable when doing business with bonding companies and the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE). “First thing they’re going to look at is to make sure you had a clean audit,” he said. Specific audit results Steele examined during a short presentation included the district’s reserve ratio. The reserve ratio is determined for school districts annually by DESE, Steele explained Monday by email. DESE does so by dividing the general and special revenue fund balances by overall operational expenses, he explained. “It basically shows what percentage of operating expenditures could be paid with operating funds on hand at ...