This afternoon I sent another letter to each board member prior to their July meeting, which I believe coincides with the upcoming MSR in San Diego. Here’s the text of that letter:
[Director]
I appreciate the FY2027 board’s early efforts to address some of the concerns expressed by membership. Board Chair Mann’s first messages conveyed the board’s commitment to better communicate with members as we all work together to get our organization back on track.
Members are looking for evidence that the board intends to match its commitment to improved communication with equally meaningful actions. One action that could be taken immediately at your July meeting would be to authorize publication of the last five years of certified auditors’ reports.
In my view, this action would be easy to accomplish, cost little to nothing, and carry no risk of confidentiality. Please consider these points:
Current available financial information is insufficient to tell the story the board needs to tell: Unlike the summarized financial information contained in CSI’s annual reports, an auditor’s report provides independent assurance regarding the financial statements, explains the scope of the audit, identifies significant matters where appropriate, and expresses the auditor’s professional opinion concerning the fairness of the organization’s financial presentation.
Auditors’ reports are readily available to the board: Each of the annual reports that I was able access on the website contained this line at the top of the financial summary, “From the CSI independent audit, period ending June 30, 202_” but none of the annual reports contained a copy of the actual auditor’s report. Although William Sundquist on the CSI Community Forum [Posted 05-21-2026 05:00 PM] referred to “…publicly available materials” including “…the last five annual reports [and] the independent audits,” a search of the website returned 16 hits, but none of them were for auditor’s reports.
Allowing members to review the auditors’ reports is consistent with your governance policy: As the governing body accountable to CSI’s members, the board has both an opportunity and a responsibility to provide information sufficient for members to understand the organization’s financial stewardship. Your own Policy Governing Manual reinforces this concept and gives you a duty to make this information available upon reasonable request.
Auditors’ reports do not fall under the veil of confidentiality: Unlike personnel matters, privileged legal advice, or sensitive negotiations, an independent auditor’s report is ordinarily intended to communicate financial information rather than confidential deliberations.
Auditors’ reports provide independent verification: Because the auditor is independent of management, the auditor’s report carries credibility that internally prepared summaries cannot. Making those reports available would allow members to evaluate the organization’s financial stewardship using information that has been independently examined.
Positive and decisive action by our board is needed now: Whether intended or not, the absence of this information has contributed to speculation, rumor, and declining confidence among many members. Publishing these reports would demonstrate that the board intends to address concerns through transparency rather than assurances alone.
It is for these reasons that I, as a member of CSI and one of the owners whom the board serves, respectfully request the board to make auditors’ reports for last five years available to membership.
To be clear, I do not I presume financial misconduct has occurred but rather take the default position that the organization’s financial position has been responsibly managed. Publication of the auditor’s reports provides the board with a perfect opportunity to demonstrate that fact through independent professional verification rather than reassurance alone.
Cross posting to the usuals - LI and CSI
