New Canaan Audit Committee Elects Interim Chair, Reviews FY26 Finances
Other Committee 2026-09-16 Part 2 · Meeting of September 16, 2026
New Canaan's Audit Committee elects Bill Bradley interim chair and reviews stronger-than-budgeted FY26 results. Bradley, chosen unanimously after the prior chair's resignation, will serve through Dec. 31, 2026; new member Ryan Swadal was also welcomed to the panel. The town reported $179.8 million in revenue against $179.2 million in expenses, turning a budgeted $6 million fund balance decrease into an estimated $900,000-plus increase.
The Board of Education will return $560,814 to the town after spending 95.5 percent of its $113.8 million appropriation, while its health benefits fund grew $2.1 million to $4.4 million. Auditor Catherine of PKF walked the committee through GASB 103, a new standard requiring more explanation of "significant" budget changes in the MD&A section, saying it "won't be a massive change from last year." The school lunch program, calling itself "the best restaurant in town," posted a $12,263 net loss after moving to cashless payments.
In the full story:
- Who Was There
- Organizations And Documents Referenced
- The complete report — 3,387 words
Source: the Other Committee 2026-09-16 Part 2 meeting of September 16, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.
The Full Article
Leadership Transition: New Member, New Interim Chair
The meeting opened with two organizational items. The committee welcomed Ryan Swadal as a new member, appointed to the panel by the Town Council, and addressed a vacancy in the chairmanship left by the resignation of a member identified in the meeting only as Rob. An unidentified acting secretary called the meeting to order at 8:31 a.m. and asked for nominations for an interim chair to serve through Dec. 31, 2026. Bill Bradley was nominated from the floor, seconded, and elected without opposition or further nominations.
A member noted that the town charter treats the chairmanship, like the secretary role, as an annual appointment, meaning the position would come up for reconsideration again at year's end regardless of Wednesday's vote. The committee also noted that a member identified only as Mary has a term expiring in December, and agreed to place that appointment on a future agenda. Bradley then assumed the chair for the remainder of the meeting.
Minutes and Housekeeping
Reviewing the April 17, 2026 minutes, a member raised two outstanding items: a planned cybersecurity briefing that had not yet been scheduled, and an unresolved question about the process for opening and closing town bank accounts, which a member identified as Diana was asked to help track down. A member also pointed out a discrepancy: the April 17 minutes record a vote approving the committee's February 11 minutes, but the town's website still displays the February 11 minutes with a "draft" watermark. The chair asked staff to correct the posting. With no further comments, the minutes were approved on a voice vote.
Audit Update and the New GASB 103 Standard
Background and stakes: The committee's outside auditor, PKF, is midway through the fiscal year 2026 audit of the town and Board of Education, and this year's audit cycle coincides with the effective date of Governmental Accounting Standards Board Statement No. 103, which restructures the Management's Discussion and Analysis, or MD&A, section that opens each entity's audited financial statements.
The question before the body: whether the town and district should expect a substantively different MD&A section in their upcoming audited financials, and what additional narrative work that will require of finance staff.
Substantive content: Catherine, an auditor with PKF, walked the committee through the mechanics of GASB 103. The standard requires five specific sections in the MD&A: an overview of the financial statements; a financial summary (largely unchanged, though preparers may now add a change column); a detailed analysis of the government-wide statements; a detailed analysis of the major funds; and a section on capital assets, long-term financing activity, and currently known facts, decisions or conditions expected to affect future periods. The financial-highlights section, which Catherine called "a little duplicative," is eliminated outright. The budgetary analysis of the general fund is removed from the MD&A entirely and will instead appear in a separate schedule within the Required Supplementary Information, alongside the budget.
Catherine said the standard's central goal is forcing preparers to explain "why" line items moved, but only for significant changes. "The GASB really wants explanations of why things change, but they only want it on significant items," she said, adding that a $10,000 shift would not warrant discussion but a $500,000 one would. She noted she had separately emailed the committee a sample MD&A template and PKF's presentation on the standard in advance of the meeting, addressed to a member she referred to by a name the transcript renders unclearly, after learning that member was joining remotely.
The deliberation: Bradley pressed Catherine on how substantively the change would affect the town's report, distinguishing the question of content from the cosmetic reshuffling of where information sits in the document. "Is this going to be a big change for, you know, the town's report in terms of what is reported?" he asked, later adding he was trying to isolate whether the change was substantive "or not from a content standpoint." Catherine responded that GASB 103 "isn't a huge lift on the part of the town" and that the town would see "a little more robust" explanations but "won't be a massive change from last year." A member also raised whether the standard would prompt more discussion of year-over-year swings within the Board of Education's budget specifically, since the district's line item is the town's largest; Catherine agreed that a multimillion-dollar change, such as a hypothetical $3 million swing, would need to be explained under the new rules.
Catherine briefly outlined two other pending standards: GASB 104, which requires leases and subscription-based IT arrangements to be broken out separately in footnote disclosures — something the town and district already do — and GASB 105, on subsequent-event disclosures, which the town and district plan to early-implement. She characterized both as minor. "Luckily, the GASB's kind of slowed down with their standards," she said.
Procedural steps and outcome: No vote was required; this was an informational briefing. Catherine, representing PKF, reported that planning work for the FY26 audit is largely complete, with single-audit major-program determinations expected within about a week. Both the town and district said they were on track to deliver a "soft close" of their books to auditors in the first week of October. Both entities also confirmed the state-required ED-01 filing was submitted on time by the September 1 deadline, and that both the town and the district received the FY25 Certificate of Achievement audit award, with reviewers commenting only on wording refinements.
Implications and what is next: The next full committee meeting is not scheduled until Nov. 18, 2026, which members agreed is a long gap given the audit's active timeline; the committee asked PKF to reach out if an interim update meeting becomes necessary before then.
Town Financial Report: FY26 Preliminary Results
Background and stakes: Item four brought the committee its first look at year-end financial results for both the town and the school district, building on preliminary figures already shared with the Board of Finance in July.
The question before the body: how the town's actual FY26 revenue and expenses compared to budget, and what that means for the year-end fund balance.
Substantive content: Presenting the town's preliminary June 30 financials, a finance official reported total revenue of $179.8 million, 102.6 percent of budget. Individual lines included current-year tax collections of $166 million (101.2 percent of budget); prior-year tax collections of $390,000 (130 percent); building permits of $1.2 million (134.4 percent); conveyance fees of $2.2 million (140 percent); parking permits of about $1.1 million, roughly 120 percent of budget; and interest on investments of $2.4 million (130.8 percent). Transfer station tipping fee revenue came in low, at $280,000, 67.5 percent of budget, which officials said was anticipated all year and offset by correspondingly lower disposal expenses. The town's Board of Ed Access Cost Grant reimbursement came in at $733,000, slightly under budget. All other revenue totaled $5.6 million, 128.8 percent of budget, which officials attributed to timing rather than any single driver. Operating transfers between funds were down $1.7 million year over year, which officials characterized as a non-substantive technical shift.
Total expenses were $179.2 million, 98.8 percent of budget. Combined with the revenue performance, that produces a projected fund balance increase of roughly $900,000 to $950,000 for the year, once an estimated $200,000 to $300,000 in remaining encumbrance reductions are finalized — a significant swing from the roughly $6 million fund balance decrease the town had budgeted.
The deliberation: A member asked about a payroll shift that had made the recreation department's revenue line look unusual year over year; staff explained a department head's position had been reclassified between recreation administration and parks, requiring a budget transfer to true up the salary line, along with a change in how the recreation fund's roughly $100,000 in expense reimbursements is now booked against revenue rather than as a contra-salary line. A member also asked about the source of "member equity" revenue, which staff explained is a return of excess revenue or profit from the town's property and liability insurance carrier to its member municipalities. Asked whether anything surprised finance staff when reviewing the statements, the presenting official said nothing stood out as unexpected, noting they were not part of the original budget-setting process for this cycle. A member also asked about progress standardizing budget codes and cost centers across departments; staff said that effort remains a multi-year work in progress.
Procedural steps and outcome: No vote was taken; the report was informational. Staff indicated no procedural changes are planned for next year's budget process beyond attempting to give departments more guidance earlier in the cycle.
Implications and what is next: Final, audited town financial figures are expected once PKF completes fieldwork this fall, following the October "soft close." The reported swing from a budgeted $6 million decrease to a roughly $900,000-plus increase will likely be a central data point in that audited report's new, more detailed MD&A narrative.
School District Financial Report: FY26 Year-End
Background and stakes: The Board of Education presented its own year-end unaudited financial report, covering the general fund, federal and state grants, school lunch, facility rentals and donations, summer school, the new launch-tuition fund, and the district's internal service (health benefits) fund.
The question before the body: how the district's actual FY26 spending compared to its appropriation, and the condition of its various restricted and internal funds heading into the audit.
Substantive content: The Board of Education's FY26 general fund appropriation from the town was $113,797,270. The district reported expenditures of $112,874,807 and year-end encumbrances of $361,649, together representing 95.5 percent of the allocated budget and leaving a balance of $560,814 to be returned to the town's general fund at final close. Budget transfers made at the district's last Board of Education meeting included $938,000 moved out of salary accounts and into contracted services, reflecting vacancies in specialized positions including board-certified behavior analysts, occupational therapists and physical therapists, whose services were instead contracted out. A separate transfer of more than $200,000 out of purchased services reflected declining out-of-district tuition costs, about $150,000 of which staff attributed to growth of in-house special-education programming, including a "downtown camp" and an expanded in-district "launch" program, reducing reliance on outside placements.
On federal and state grants, the district received $2,158,393 in FY26 awards and spent about 68 percent, or $1,464,956, with the remaining $693,438 carrying into fiscal 2027 under multi-year grant terms.
The school lunch program ended the year with a $647,335 fund balance, just under three months of operating expenses at the current run rate, but reported a sales decline that staff linked to a shift to a cashless payment system and staffing shortages that lengthened lines. The program has since implemented a 5 percent price increase on all products and expanded service to town hall employees. Non-salary food and supply costs fell $85,950 year over year, but the program still posted a net loss of $12,263 for the year; staff separately noted the district had deferred some equipment purchases into the prior fiscal year, producing a large favorable budget variance in that line. The district does not participate in the National School Lunch Program, meaning it receives no federal reimbursement for meals but has more flexibility over its menu and vendors; families that qualify for free and reduced lunch are still supported through the self-operated program, aided by a recurring donation from the New Canaan Community Foundation that funds $35 monthly debit deposits for identified students.
Facility rentals generated $388,639 in FY26 revenue, of which $209,115, or 54 percent, offset direct costs such as custodial overtime and energy; an additional $100,910 funded an AV system upgrade at the high school and LED lighting upgrades at Saxe Middle School, leaving a $532,065 fund balance. Donations totaled $191,473, supporting academic, athletic, and visual and performing arts programs. The summer school fund ended at $102,872, a net decrease of $40,829. The district's new launch-tuition fund, covering revenue and expenses from out-of-town students in the district's launch program, recorded its first full year with $323,208 in revenue against $268,576 in expenditures, leaving a $54,632 balance.
The internal service fund, which covers the district's self-insured health benefits, ended the year with a $4,383,172 balance, an increase of about $2.1 million over the prior year. Staff attributed the increase to higher employee contributions, a larger prescription-drug subsidy, lower-than-expected claims, and a smaller-than-anticipated stop-loss insurance cost. Because the balance now exceeds what the district's reserve policy requires, a previously agreed $500,000 transfer from the fund to the town's general fund — negotiated during the prior year's budget process — is expected to be executed, likely in fiscal 2027 rather than fiscal 2026, as the mechanics of the first-ever transfer are worked out.
The deliberation: A committee member asked whether GLP-1 weight-loss and diabetes medications were driving up district health costs, citing recent national coverage of the issue. A school official said the district made an early decision to cover GLP-1s despite the added upfront cost, and that overall claims are down more than $1 million year over year, though staff could not yet confirm a causal link. The official said the district reviews utilization data regularly with its pharmacy benefit partners and noted more than 35 percent of covered employees have an obesity diagnosis, which factored into the original coverage decision. The district also reported receiving more than $300,000 above its budgeted pharmacy reimbursement. "Pharma's a big driver," the official said, adding that the district's overall medical claims have run below state and national trend even as pharmacy costs track with broader trends.
Procedural steps and outcome: No vote was taken on the financial report. The Board of Education has already approved its own year-end budget transfers at a separate meeting.
Implications and what is next: The $560,814 return to the town's general fund and the pending $500,000 internal service fund transfer both flow into the town's broader fund balance picture for FY26 and FY27. The district's health fund surplus and GLP-1 utilization data are likely to resurface as budget-season discussion points, which a member noted is already beginning for the next cycle.
Internal Audit Update
Background and stakes: The committee has an ongoing internal audit program examining town and school procurement practices, following a completed study of the town's procure-to-pay process.
The question before the body: what progress has been made implementing the internal audit's recommendations, and how to structure future internal audit topics.
Substantive content: The chair reported that on June 17, 2026, he met with the full Town Council in a public meeting to walk through the completed procure-to-pay internal audit study, after previously emailing the completed study to the Town Council's chairman and vice chairman for distribution to all members. He asked new member Ryan Swadal to join the committee's internal audit subcommittee. The chair also circulated a roughly 15-page list of municipal audit study types available from the firm Clifton Larson Allen (CLA), the vendor used for prior internal audit studies, as a resource for identifying future internal audit topics.
On implementation, a school finance official said she met early in her tenure with Pat Marin, the district's budget director, to review the procurement internal audit's findings, several of which staff had already begun addressing before her arrival. The district recently completed staff training on the contract-management module within Tyler Munis, the district's financial system, which was identified as a priority area; additional areas remain under review.
On the town side, staff reported several completed items: a previously flagged credit card issue has been corrected, and a six-week Munis training program conducted in September 2025 — videotaped, with a step-by-step guide — is being repeated this year and may become mandatory for staff. A contract-management module has been piloted in one town department, which staff said has improved tracking of long-term contracts and helped ensure retainage is accrued correctly at year's end, addressing a previously identified audit finding. Staff credited Bill Oseman with work on updating the town's purchasing policy, reviewing purchasing policies from roughly six other towns — specifically seeking ones drafted or reviewed by an outside audit firm — and converting a selected model policy into a working draft tailored to New Canaan's structure, in which the Board of Selectmen also serves as the purchasing board, a configuration staff said is uncommon among peer towns.
The deliberation: Asked directly for a completion timeline on the written purchasing procedure manuals, the town finance official estimated "another two months plus," citing the demands of concurrent audit-season work and recent staffing changes. The official noted this is the first time in four years the office has had a fully stable staff, with a newly filled position and a purchasing manager position now moving to a job posting through human resources. The chair suggested the committee hold a dedicated subcommittee meeting to review the internal audit implementation timelines in more detail, calling them "living, breathing documents."
Procedural steps and outcome: No vote was taken. The chair proposed scheduling a subcommittee meeting to review implementation progress in depth.
Implications and what is next: With the purchasing policy rewrite roughly two months from a working draft and a purchasing manager position about to be posted, the committee's internal audit subcommittee — now including Ryan Swadal — is expected to reconvene before the committee's Nov. 18 regular meeting to assess progress.
Bill Bradley, elected interim chair during this meeting. Ryan Swadal, new committee member, appointed by the Town Council; also asked to join the internal audit subcommittee. A member identified only as Rob, who resigned the chairmanship before this meeting; not confirmed present. A member identified only as Mary, whose term expires in December 2026. A member identified only as Tony, who seconded the motion to adjourn. An unidentified member who called the meeting to order as acting secretary. Diana, referenced regarding a follow-up item on opening and closing bank accounts; role not specified in the transcript. Catherine, external auditor with PKF, presenting the audit update and GASB 103 briefing. Ann, identified as a town finance official participating in the financial report discussion; exact title not stated. Casey, school district finance official who presented the district's audit-readiness update and portions of the year-end financial report, including the school lunch program. Brian, school district finance official thanked alongside Casey following the schools' financial report; exact role not stated. Ryan (town finance official presenting the town's preliminary financial report); this may be the same Ryan Swadal introduced as a new committee member, but the transcript does not make that connection explicit.
PKF — the town and school district's external audit firm; Catherine of PKF presented the audit-planning update and the new GASB 103 MD&A requirements. Clifton Larson Allen (CLA) — accounting/consulting firm used for prior internal audit studies; its roughly 15-page list of municipal study types was circulated to the committee for future internal audit topic selection. Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) Statement No. 103 — new standard restructuring the MD&A section of audited financial statements, discussed at length as the meeting's central technical item. GASB Statement No. 104 — standard on capital asset disclosure, including separate presentation of leases and subscription-based IT arrangements; discussed briefly as a minor change. GASB Statement No. 105 — standard on subsequent-event disclosures, which the town and district plan to early-implement. ED-01 filing — the state-required full district financial reporting filing, confirmed submitted by the September 1, 2026 statutory deadline. Tyler Munis — the town's and district's financial management software; its contract-management module was cited in the internal audit implementation update. New Canaan Community Foundation — cited as the source of a recurring donation supporting free and reduced-lunch students in the school district. National School Lunch Program — federal program the district does not participate in, discussed in response to a question about federal meal-program funding. Cigna — referenced as the district's health-plan/pharmacy benefit partner in the discussion of GLP-1 medication costs and claims data. Town Council — received the completed procure-to-pay internal audit study at a June 17, 2026 public meeting; also the appointing body for new committee member Ryan Swadal. Board of Finance — received the town's preliminary June 30 financial results in July, ahead of this committee's review of the same figures.