COAL GROVE — Anyone would be hard-pressed to oversee a $15 million budget and it be virtually mistake free, but Dawson-Bryant Local School District Treasurer Brad Miller has accomplished that feat.

Ohio Auditor of State Dave Yost announced recipients of the Auditor of State Award last week and Dawson-Bryant was one of the 18 districts on the list.

“It’s a great honor,” George York, Dawson-Bryant superintendent, said. “Not a lot of school districts make that list.”

York gave all credit for the distinction to the treasurer but Miller said the effort put forth in getting a “clean” audit report is districtwide.

“It’s true the buck stops with me but I’m not the only one involved,” Miller said. “A clean audit is a reflection of not only my job but also the assistant treasurer, the payroll clerk, the superintendent, the federal programs coordinator and our food service coordinator. It’s a joint effort.”

The Auditor of State Award is presented to local governments and school districts upon the completion of a financial audit.

Several criteria must be met to receive the Auditor of State award. Miller had to file timely financial reports with the Auditor of State’s office in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP); the audit report must not contain any findings for recovery, material citations, material weaknesses, significant deficiencies, single audit findings or questioned costs; and the district’s management letter couldn’t contain any comments related to ethics referrals, questioned costs less than $10,000, lack of timely report submission, reconciliation, failure to obtain a timely single audit, findings for recovery less than $100 or public meetings or public records.

“It’s a comprehensive audit,” Miller said. “We are required by law to be audited once a year because we receive public money. It takes two or three field auditors a month to complete the audit. The state gives the school districts report cards and this audit is the report card for my office.”

The goal every year is a clean audit, Miller said, but mistakes do happen and that’s just part of the job.

“There are so many laws and requirements and many of them change from year to year that sometimes mistakes happen, things fall through the cracks or get forgotten about,” he said. “There is so much to an audit and I can’t say it doesn’t feel good to see hard work pay off.”

Full copies of all Auditor of State Award audits can be viewed at ohioauditor.gov.