ILLINOIS HEALTH CARE FINANCIAL AND COMPLIANCE AUDIT Summary of Findings:
WILLIAM G. HOLLAND To obtain a copy of the Report contact: This Report Digest is also available on |
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ILLINOIS HEALTH CARE COST CONTAINMENT COUNCIL
FINANCIAL AND COMPLIANCE AUDIT
For The Two Years Ended June 30, 1998
EXPENDITURE STATISTICS | FY 1998 |
FY 1997 |
FY 1996 |
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$1,253,859 $1,005,268 $531,393 20 $95,271 $82,737 $295,867
$623,437 |
$1,239,811 $932,398 $512,543 20 $82,311 $66,663 $270,881
$704,427 |
$1,210,798 $924,948 $518,923 20 $81,645 $90,781 $233,599
$719,172 |
SELECTED ACTIVITY MEASURES | FY 1998 |
FY 1997 |
FY 1996 |
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8 |
5 |
5 |
AGENCY DIRECTOR(S) | |||
During Audit Period: Joseph A. Bonefeste Currently: Joseph A. Bonefeste |
Vouchers not approved within 30 days No comprehensive test performed Four month delay in submitting the Report to the Comptrollers Office |
FINDINGS, CONCLUSIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS UNTIMELY APPROVAL OF TRAVEL AND INVOICE VOUCHERS The Council did not approve travel and invoice vouchers totaling $219,945 in a timely manner. A total of 78 travel and invoice vouchers were not approved within 30 days as required by the Illinois Administrative Code. Approvals ranged 4 to 303 days late. (Finding 98-1, pages 14-15) Council officials agreed with our recommendation to approve travel and invoice vouchers within 30 days in accordance with State regulations. DISASTER RECOVERY DEFICIENCIES The Council has not conducted a comprehensive test of the Disaster Recovery Plan to simulate the recovery of processing for the minicomputer and Local Area Network (LAN) systems. The equipment is configured into various computer systems including minicomputers and local area networks (LANS), and the Department of Central Management Services mainframe systems. A variety of applications are maintained on these systems which contain critical, financially sensitive, or confidential data. These include the mission critical Uniform Billing Data and Intake systems which collect and track health care costs and other relevant patient care data from Illinois hospitals. Disaster Recovery Plans should be tested at least annually or when changes occur in the information systems environment for the organization. Without an annual test of the Plan, there is no assurance that the Plan would function to meet the processing needs of the critical applications for the Council. (Finding 98-2, pages 16-17) This finding has been repeated since 1992. Council officials agreed with our recommendation to perform a comprehensive test of the Disaster Recovery Plan to determine if the Plan functions as designed to meet the processing needs of the critical applications. (For previous agency responses, see Digest Footnote 1) SERVICE EFFORTS AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS INFORMATION NOT REPORTED TIMELY The Service Efforts and Accomplishments report required by the Comptrollers Office was not prepared and submitted timely. The report was due October 15, 1998 and was not completed by the Council until January, 1999. (Finding 98-3, page 18) This report provides information on the service efforts, costs, and accomplishments of the Agency in its major programs and services. Council officials agreed with our recommendation to submit this report on a timely basis as required. AUDITORS' OPINION Our auditors state that the June 30, 1998 and 1997 financial statements for the Special Studies Fund are fairly presented except for the effects of such adjustments, if any, as might have been determined to be necessary had they been able to examine evidence regarding year 2000 disclosures. ____________________________________ WGH:ROQ:ak SPECIAL ASSISTANT AUDITORS Our special assistant auditors for this audit were Jack Robertson & Co., Certified Public Accountants. DIGEST FOOTNOTES #1 DISASTER RECOVERY DEFICIENCIES - Previous Agency Responses 1996: "The Council has developed a draft disaster recovery plan which will be reviewed by CMS - BCCS. Once the plan has been reviewed and approved by CMS - BCCS, the Council will test the plan. Thereby, complying with the recommendation of the Auditor General." 1994: "The Council has been prevented by under-appropriation from correcting this material weakness. At the time of this response adequate funding for the first year of an off-site disaster recovery contract is included in the FY96 Budget. During FY96, should appropriations permit, the Council will release a Request for Information on offsite disaster recovery services and enter into a contract with an appropriate vendor." 1992: "The Council has in place a plan which is not tested and is documented only in the sense that there is a written agreement to cooperate in the event of a disaster. The Council acknowledges that this is not a satisfactory situation and that it should take steps to document and test the plan as other priorities and funding permit. The Council believes that several other factors help put the finding in perspective:
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