Illinois Department of Corrections Taylorville Correctional Center 2002 Audit

REPORT DIGEST

TAYLORVILLE CORRECTIONAL CENTER

LIMITED SCOPE
COMPLIANCE AUDIT

For the Two Years Ended:
June 30, 2002

Summary of Findings:

Total this audit 3
Total last audit 4
Repeated from last audit 1

Release Date:
April 23, 2003

State of Illinois

Office of the Auditor General

WILLIAM G. HOLLAND

AUDITOR GENERAL

To obtain a copy of the Report contact:
Office of the Auditor General
Attn: Records Manager
Iles Park Plaza
740 E. Ash Street
Springfield, IL 62703

(217)782-6046 or TDD (217) 524-4646

This Report Digest is also available on
the worldwide web at
http://www.state.il.us/auditor

SYNOPSIS

The Center did not have a proper separation of duties regarding the custody of records related to the timekeeping function.

Controls over commodity inventories were not adequate.

{Expenditures and Activity Measures are summarized on the next page.}

ILLINOIS DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS
TAYLORVILLE CORRECTIONAL CENTER
LIMITED SCOPE COMPLIANCE AUDIT
For The Two Years Ended June 30, 2002

EXPENDITURE STATISTICS	FY 2002	FY 2001	FY 2000
Total Expenditures (All Appropriated Funds)	$21,389,346	$20,332,899	$20,104,226
Personal Services % of Total Expenditures Average No. of Employees Average Salary Per Employee Inmate Compensation % of Total Expenditures	$12,985,930 60.71% 298 $43,577 $260,968 1.22%	$12,254,765 60.27% 292 $41,968 $273,005 1.34%	$12,064,365 60% 300 $40,215 $246,607 1.23%
Other Payroll Costs (FICA, Retirement) % of Total Expenditures	$2,961,184 13.84%	$2,788,869 13.72%	$2,715,573 13.51%
Contractual Services % of Total Expenditures	$3,492,318 16.33%	$3,258,245 16.02%	$3,156,968 15.70%
Commodities	$1,491,788	$1,529,098	$1,611,417
% of Total Expenditures	6.98%	7.52%	8.02%
All Other Items % of Total Expenditures	$197,158 .92%	$228,917 1.13%	$309,296 1.54%
Cost of Property and Equipment	$25,613,483	$25,344,711	$25,315,468

SELECTED ACTIVITY MEASURES	FY 2002	FY 2001	FY 2000
Average Number of Inmates	1,155	1,418	1,190
Ratio of Correctional Officers to Inmates	1/5.2	1/6.5	1/5.5
Cost Per Year Per Inmate	$18,502	$14,329	$16,801
Rated Inmate Capacity	600	600	600
Approximate Square Feet Per Inmate	30	29	29

CENTER WARDEN(S)

During Audit Period: Walter A. Groesch, Ph.D. (7/1/00 – 7/31/01), David C. Freeman (8/1/01 – Current)
Currently: David C. Freeman

Inventory records were inaccurate

The timekeeper had access to the records which are the basis for his/her pay

FINDINGS, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

NEED TO IMPROVE INVENTORY CONTROLS

The Center did not maintain proper internal controls over commodity inventories. We noted the following control weaknesses over inventories:

Year-end perpetual inventory records and actual inventory quantities differed by $28 in FY 02 and $15,493 in FY 01.

Inventory reconciliations of commodities inventory records to the Center’s general ledger were not performed for fiscal years ended June 30, 2002 and 2001.

We recommended management ensure staff are properly trained and supervised. We further recommended the Center devote adequate resources and personnel to ensure inventory records are accurately maintained, adjusted, and reconciled in a timely manner. (Finding 3, page 12)

Center officials stated our recommendations have been implemented. Procedures for monthly reconciliations were instituted in fiscal year 2003.

LACK OF SEPARATION OF DUTIES

The Center did not have a proper separation of duties over the timekeeping function. The timekeeper had access to the daily sign in/out sheets. In addition, the timekeeper also performed the summarization of his own time into the timecards, which is the basis of the entry into the payroll system.

As a direct result of this weakness in internal control, a former timekeeper changed some documentation, improperly adjusted her time usage, and was able to accumulate a personal gain of $1,858. Center management discovered the timekeeping errors, which occurred during the period March 2001 to September 2001. The Center was able to recover the total amount from the former employee. (Finding 2, page 11)

We recommended the Center ensure proper separation of duties so that the timekeeper does not have access to his timecards and sign in/out sheets.

The Center accepted our recommendation and responded it will work to obtain a separation of duties regarding the custody of records related to the timekeeping function.

OTHER FINDING

The remaining finding is less significant and reportedly is being given attention by the Center. We will review progress towards implementation of our recommendations during our next audit.

Ms. Mary Ann Bohlen, Office of the Chief Internal Auditor, provided responses to the recommendations for the Department of Corrections.

AUDITORS' OPINION

We conducted a limited scope compliance audit of the Center as required by the Illinois State Auditing Act. We also performed certain agreed-upon procedures with respect to the accounting records of the Center to assist our audit of the entire Department. Financial statements for the Department will be presented in that audit report.

____________________________________

WILLIAM G. HOLLAND, Auditor General

WGH:TEE:pp

AUDITORS ASSIGNED

Our special assistant auditors were E. C. Ortiz & Co., Certified Public Accountants.