TUSD Audit Committee Charter Review
- John Blackshire
- 5 days ago
- 2 min read
Issues with the Governance of the TUSD - July 14, 2026 by John C. Blackshire, Jr.
I submited an Independent Review of the Tucson Unified School District Audit Committee Charter for the Governing Board's consideration for the betterment of the Governance of TUSD.
The purpose of this review was to evaluate the current Audit Committee Charter against nationally recognized governance standards and leading practices to determine whether it provides the Governing Board with an effective framework for fulfilling its oversight responsibilities.
The review compared the Charter to the following authoritative governance frameworks:
The Institute of Internal Auditors' 2025 Global Internal Audit Standards
COSO Internal Control—Integrated Framework
U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) Green Book
Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) Best Practices
National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD) Audit Committee Guidance
Leading public-sector governance practices
Overall, the review concluded that the revised Charter represents a significant improvement over prior versions and establishes a substantially stronger governance framework. At the same time, the review identified opportunities to further strengthen the Charter and better align it with recognized governance practices.
The report identifies 20 governance improvement opportunities, consisting of:
5 Critical Findings
8 High-Priority Findings
7 Moderate Findings
These recommendations focus on strengthening the independence and effectiveness of the Audit Committee while enhancing the Governing Board's oversight of:
Financial reporting
Internal controls
Enterprise risk management
Internal Audit
External Audit
Fraud risk management
Ethics and compliance
Cybersecurity and technology governance
Long-term financial sustainability
The report includes:
An Executive Summary
A Governance Dashboard highlighting all findings by priority
Detailed analyses of each finding, including the condition, governing criteria, cause, consequence, and recommended corrective action
A comparison of the Charter against nationally recognized governance frameworks
Suggested charter language for consideration by the Governing Board
The recommendations are intended to assist the Governing Board in strengthening its governance framework and enhancing the long-term effectiveness of the Audit Committee. They are offered for the Board's consideration as part of its ongoing commitment to sound governance, accountability, transparency, and stewardship of District resources.
I appreciate your consideration of this review and would welcome the opportunity to discuss the observations and recommendations or answer any questions the Board may have.
I would also recommend the following blog post to be reviewed by interested stakeholders:
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