REPORT DIGEST

PROPERTY TAX APPEAL BOARD

COMPLIANCE EXAMINATION
FOR THE TWO YEARS ENDED JUNE 30, 2023

Release Date:  May 2, 2024

FINDINGS THIS AUDIT: 12

CATEGORY:  NEW -- REPEAT – TOTAL
Category 1:  1 -- 2 -- 3
Category 2:  1 -- 8 -- 9
Category 3:  0 -- 0 -- 0
TOTAL:  2 -- 10 -- 12

FINDINGS LAST AUDIT: 13

State of Illinois, Office of the Auditor
General
FRANK J. MAUTINO, AUDITOR GENERAL

To obtain a copy of the Report contact:
Office of the Auditor General, 400 West
Monroe, Suite 306, Springfield, IL
62704-9849
(217) 782-6046 or TTY (888) 261-2887

This Report Digest and Full Report are also
available on the worldwide web at
www.auditor.illinois.gov

SYNOPSIS

• (22-01) The Property Tax Appeal Board’s
(Board) internal controls over its voucher
processing function were not operating
effectively during the examination period.

• (22-02) The Board did not allow for the
speedy hearing of all appeals.

FINDINGS, CONCLUSIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS

VOUCHER PROCESSING WEAKNESSES

The Property Tax Appeal Board’s (Board)
internal controls over its voucher
processing function were not operating
effectively during the examination period.

Due to our ability to rely upon the
processing integrity of the Enterprise
Resource Planning System (ERP) operated by
the Department of Innovation and Technology
(DoIT), we were able to limit our voucher
testing at the Board to determine whether
certain key attributes were properly entered
by the Board’s staff into the ERP. In order
to determine the operating effectiveness of
the Board’s internal controls related to
voucher processing and subsequent payment of
interest, we selected a sample of key
attributes (attributes) to determine if the
attributes were properly entered into the
State’s ERP System based on supporting
documentation. The attributes tested were 1)
vendor information, 2) expenditure amount,
3) object(s) of expenditure, and 4) the
later of the receipt date of the proper bill
or the receipt date of the goods and/or
services.

Our testing noted 4 of 140 (3%) attributes
were not properly entered into the ERP
System. Therefore, the Board’s internal
controls over voucher processing were not
operating effectively.

Due to this condition, we qualified our
opinion because we determined the Board had
not complied, in all material respects, with
applicable laws and regulations, including
the State uniform accounting system, in its
financial and fiscal operations.

Even given the limitations noted above, we
conducted an analysis of the Board’s
expenditures data for fiscal years 2021 and
2022 to determine compliance with the Code
(74 Ill. Admin Code 90070). We noted the
following noncompliance:

• The Board did not timely approve 17 of 534
(3%) vouchers processed during the
examination period, totaling $26,766. We
noted these late vouchers were submitted by
the Board to the Comptroller’s Office
between 1 and 45 days late.
• The supporting documentation for 1 of 35
(3%) vouchers tested, totaling $530, did not
include a purchase order, requisition, or
other obligation document.
• For 1 of 35 (3%) vouchers tested, totaling
$17,948, the Board did not file a New
Furniture Affidavit with the Department of
Central Management Services (DCMS) for the
purchase of new furniture.
• One of 35 (3%) vouchers tested, totaling
$6,011, was not categorized into the correct
detail object code.
• One of 35 (3%) vouchers tested, totaling
$530, was not properly supported.
Specifically, the voucher support did not
contain information regarding what
certification was being reimbursed.
• The Board did not revoke voucher signature
authority for three individuals in a timely
manner. The authority was revoked between
974 and 1,542 days after each employees’
respective last day. (Finding 1, pages.
10-13)

We recommended the Board strengthen its
controls over voucher processing to ensure
vouchers are processed properly and timely.

The Board accepted the findings and will
work to improve its controls over the
voucher processing system.

TIMELINESS OF HEARINGS

The Board did not allow for the speedy
hearing of all appeals. During testing, we
noted the following:

• The Board has a backlog of property tax
appeal cases. As of June 30, 2022, the Board
had over 80,000 cases which were still
pending, and the increase in cases has been
exponential over the past few years. It
would take many years to fully process the
backlog given the current increase in case
load, as well as current staffing levels.

• The Board did not allow for a speedy
hearing of appeal cases. We analyzed 100% of
the cases closed during the examination
period and pending as of June 30, 2022, and
noted the following:

— 40,400 of 70,340 (57%) cases were closed
over two years from the receipt date.

— 61,776 of 84,942 (73%) cases were pending
over two years from the receipt date.
(Finding 2, pages 14-15). This finding has
been repeated since 2004.

We recommended the Board work with the
Governor and the General Assembly to
increase its headcount, which will assist
the Board in providing for the speedy
hearing of all new appeals and decrease the
backlog of appeals.

The Board accepted the finding and is in the
process of hiring additional staff to
decrease the number of pending appeals.

OTHER FINDINGS

The remaining findings pertain to inadequate
control over State property, receipts,
reconciliations, performance evaluations,
timekeeping files, Agency Fee Imposition
Reports and leased equipment; reporting
procedural deficiencies; information
security weaknesses; and lack of interagency
agreement with DoIT.  We will review the
Board’s progress towards the implementation
of our recommendations in our next State
compliance examination.

ACCOUNTANT’S OPINION

The accountants conducted a State compliance
examination of the Board for the two years
ended June 30, 2022, as required by the
Illinois State Auditing Act.  The
accountants qualified their report on State
compliance for Findings 2022-001 through
2022-003.  Except for the noncompliance
described in these findings, the accountants
stated the Board complied, in all material
respects, with the requirements described in
the report.

This State compliance examination was
conducted by the Office of the Auditor
General’s staff.

JANE CLARK
Division Director

This report is transmitted in accordance
with Section 3-14 of the Illinois State
Auditing Act.

FRANK J. MAUTINO
Auditor General

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