The Roslyn School District Fraud: Improving School District Internal Control and Financial Oversight

Abstract

ABSTRACT The voters in Roslyn, New York inadvertently funded a multi-year embezzlement of $11 million of school district tax funds. Disguised by exceptional school rankings, and supported through a strong tax base, it was the largest embezzlement of school district funds to occur in the United States. Perpetrated by a school superintendent and his conspirators, initial evidence of the cash fraud was discovered two years prior to a formal investigation; however, a series of cover-ups by board of education members along with substandard audit work allowed the embezzlement to continue. State regulators responded to the crisis with the passage of a series of fiscal reform legislation aimed at improving school district internal control through changes in school district governance, the procurement of independent auditing, and state agency oversight. The case explores the incentives, rationalization, and opportunities for the perpetration and concealment of the Roslyn fraud as well as the overall impact of the state's fiscal reform legislation on New York's independent audit markets and reporting quality. This case is suitable for use in both auditing and governmental and not-for-profit courses.