School Districts

At Cerini & Associates, we have both an extensive background in systems and a keen understanding of school district operations. We don’t take a “canned” approach to working with school districts, but instead take the time to understand how you do business, the unique nuances of your operations, so we can tailor our testing to provide the greatest results and benefit to the district. Furthermore, we produce reports that are easy to understand and provide results oriented recommendations for improvement; and then we monitor the district’s progress in tightening controls. Our recommendations have not only tightened controls, but saved districts money by streamlining operations and uncovering fiscal and operational errors.

What Sets Cerini & Associates Apart:

We take a different approach than most other firms working in the school district arena; we don’t just do the same procedures month after month, but instead focus on areas of risk and do in-depth testing within those areas.

We are heavily involved in the audit and consulting of more than a dozen pre-school and school age providers (e.g. ACLD, DDI, etc.), giving us unique expertise in PPS/special education.

We have on staff an IT auditor, who has several years of experience in both “Big 4” accounting and private company (Fortune 100) IT auditing.

Value-added services such as: our bi-weekly electronic newsletter, seminars and updates, and our newsletter the Lesson Plan.

We strive to:

  • Help you save money
  • Looks into areas that other firms overlook to maximize your return and find savings
  • Understands the link between curriculum needs and financial needs
  • Aligns services to your goals
  • Increases efficiencies
  • Be a strategic partner
  • Go beyond being an unfunded mandate

We find that many firms provide low bids for services and then either bill for additional services or do not perform technically-sufficient work. We pride ourselves on providing high-level, timely services at a guaranteed fixed price…no games, no surprises.

We have been quoted, or appeared in articles, in numerous publications regarding our school district experience, including On Board, The Reporter, and the New York Times.

At Cerini & Associates, we treat our clients as if we lived in their district—our focus is on helping your district’s operations make the grade. Contact us today for more information about our services and how we can be of assistance to your district.

MEET THE TEAM

sHARI

Shari Diamond, CIA
Partner

RECENT NEWS

TESTIMONIALS

I have worked with Ken Cerini and his team for over 15 years. I have found answers to my many questions about the industry and in addition to the accounting work Ken has been a key advisor to our company. He and his team take great pride in their work. They are always available and they have taken a personal interest in us and our success. We have been very fortunate to have worked with them for many years and I recommend them highly.
Scott Mesh, PhD, CEO
Los Niños Services/Young Child Learning
New York Center for Child Development ( NYCCD) has been privileged to work with Cerini and Associates since 2016.  They not only provide full accounting services, but they bring exceptional knowledge about the issues and challenges facing our sector and share a true commitment to our values and mission.  They have built solid relationships with our management team and provide technical assistance that is well beyond any fiscal or accounting input. It is the personal relationship and accessibility that is one of many factors that put them above the rest. They are a go to resource where the best interests of the children and families we serve is always foremost in their guidance. Their value driven decision making and rare ability to combine the best interests of those we serve with fiscal accountability sets them apart. Their strong knowledge and history of positive working relationships with those in decision making positions has helped facilitate sound and beneficial decisions.
Evelyn J. Blanck, Executive Director
New York Center for Child Development
It is an absolute pleasure to work with Cerini & Associates as our Audit and Tax services provider. Over the past several years they have proven themselves to be diligent, responsive, dependable, and highly professional in taking care of our accounting needs. We have come to rely on Ken Cerini not only for his accounting, non-profit, and special education knowledge and expertise, but for his guidance on organizational issues and growth opportunities. Cerini & Associates is a quality firm with personalized service that truly cares about the organizations they serve.
Debora Thivierge, CEO & Carolyn Varajao, CFO
The ELIJA School
Cerini & Associates has provided consulting services to our early education program for several years. They have an expertise in the industry that cannot be matched. We are consistently pleased with the quality of service and the knowledge of all members of the team. They are always responsive to our needs and have helped us to make important financial and programmatic decisions related to the continued and future success of our program.
Melissa Sandler, Controller
St. Mary’s Healthcare System for Children
We moved to Cerini & Associates from a much larger firm several years ago. While I was not thrilled with the experience I had with our prior accountants, I was a little nervous moving to a much smaller firm. What I found instead in Cerini & Associates, was a firm that had a deep understanding of our business and industry; a firm that was engaged in helping us to run more effectively and compliantly; a firm that was extremely responsive and available; and a firm that provided us regular contact with the engagement partner. With the larger firms I would see the senior partners only during the initial engagement meeting and not when I needed support. My experience with Cerini & Associates has taught me the right accounting firm offers access to senior staff and supports your needs and the needs of your business at all times. They become a part of your business that is as valuable as any staff member. Cerini & Associates continues to prove their value on a regular basis.
ICCD logo
David Locker, Executive Director
Interdisciplinary Center for Child Development
First, I would do anything for Ken. He is invaluable to any agency. We first met at the Long Island Coalition. Of all the firms on Long Island Ken was the only partner/founder who had the good sense to take part in meetings of Long Island special education classroom based program Directors. Our issues are enormous and the monthly meetings often are challenging. While we represent different agencies who (at times) compete for the same children the Long Island Coalition is collegial and represents one voice while contributing to our state wide coalition. For the past six years Ken has attended and offered free advice on a number of financial issues. I am often amazed at the lack of appreciation that others show at times. Just Kids Diagnostic and Treatment Center decided early on to utilize the services of Cerini and Associates for our medical clinic. Ken, Matt and Shari provided our independent certification of our financial’s and contributed to the maturity of our internal controls on a limited basis. This past year one of our Chief Business officers retired. Ken and Cerini and Associates endeavored to substantiality review all of our financial records and protocols. His monthly management reports became the framework for our goals towards improvement in every aspect our of business. Coincidentally a state law required a Comptroller’s audit by 2018. Many of the requirements were protocols that Ken had started to initiate on our behalf. Our program grew from 6 employees to well over 500. While the “mom and pop” business is revered by so many its lack of sophistication is not tolerated in our preschool special education world. My Administrative Assistant probably gave the most meaningful description of Ken. She said “while others scream and yell when deadlines approach Ken has a quiet and comforting demeanor that facilitates a much more reasonable environment which lends itself to a perfect product”.
Steven Held, Executive Director
Just Kids, Inc.
Ken’s knowledge, dedication, experience and intelligence is reflected in his quality of work. His staff is well supervised, organized and extremely pleasant. C&A helped us move forward to secure a better future for our business.
Kids-Centric, Inc.