Boynton HOA’s finances at risk

Audit at Nautica finds ‘deficiencies’ in controls

BOYNTON BEACH – A 2021 audit of Nautica, a gated Boynton Beach community of 336 single-family homes, has found “significant deficiencies” in its financial controls that could leave its homeowners association vulnerable to mismanagement and fraud.

The audits, conducted in 2020 and 2021 by the accounting firm Hafer, noted that the HOA did not have a conflict-of-interest policy or “a fraud response plan.” The two audits included the following disclaimer: “We have not been able to obtain sufficient appropriate evidence to provide a basis for an audit opinion on the financial statements.”

There was no finding that fraudulent activity actually occurred at the 28-year-old development off Lawrence Road, but the audit did discover “material weaknesses” serious enough that “there is a reasonable possibility” that a misstatement of the HOA’s finances would neither be detected or discovered in a timely fashion.

Homeowners contribute more than $600,000 a year to maintain the community.

Janice Berman, a Nautica resident and longtime critic of the board, has called on the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation to review issues at Nautica. She claims the HOA initially refused to provide her HOA documents, including audits. She says they were eventually provided once she complained to the state agency.

Andry Fuentes, another resident of Nautica, complained to The Palm Beach Post about the lack of transparency by the HOA and said he, too, is concerned about what the audits have revealed. Berman said a detailed forensic audit should be undertaken to ensure that money have been properly spent.

Nick Skarecki, the HOA president for the past 15 years, said Berman, a homeowner at Nautica, has been a dis