REPORT DIGEST
DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS’
AFFAIRS
COMPLIANCE ATTESTATION EXAMINATION For the Two Years Ended: June 30, 2008 Summary of Findings: Release Date: June 25, 2009
State of Office of the Auditor General WILLIAM G. HOLLAND AUDITOR GENERAL To obtain a copy of the
Report contact: Office of the Auditor
General
(217) 782-6046 or TTY (888)
261-2887 This Report Digest and Full
Report is also available on the worldwide web at |
SYNOPSIS ¨ The Home had inadequate internal controls over cash receipts. ¨ The Home was not in compliance with the State Officials and Employees Ethics Act.
{Expenditures and Activity Measures are summarized on
the reverse page.} |
STATE OF
COMPLIANCE ATTESTATION
EXAMINATION
For the Two Years Ended
June 30, 2008
EXPENDITURE STATISTICS |
FY 2008 |
FY 2007 |
FY 2006 |
Total Expenditures (All Funds) (1)..................
|
$38,193,570 |
$34,830,893 |
$32,123,970
|
OPERATIONS TOTAL......................................
% of Total Expenditures....................................
|
$37,419,223
97.97% |
$34,173,539
98.11% |
$31,605,873
98.38% |
Personal Services............................................
% of
Operations Expenditures.......................
Average
No. of Employees...........................
|
$24,086,110
64.37%
509 |
$23,223,032
67.96%
518 |
$21,581,635
68.28%
546 |
Other Payroll Costs (FICA,
Retirement)...........
% of
Operations Expenditures.......................
|
$5,788,724
15.47% |
$4,400,190
12.88% |
$3,477,009
11.00% |
Contractual
Services.......................................
% of Operations Expenditures.......................
|
$2,589,307
6.92% |
$2,465,157
7.21% |
$2,345,240
7.42% |
All Other Operations Items..............................
% of Operations Expenditures.......................
|
$4,955,082
13.24% |
$4,085,160
11.95% |
$4,201,989
13.29% |
NON-APPROPRIATED FUNDS
Veterans' Affairs Library
Grant Fund (775)......
% of Total Expenditures...............................
|
$14,250
.04% |
$12,694
.04% |
$15,000
.05% |
LOCALLY HELD FUNDS TOTAL (1)..............
% of Total Expenditures...............................
|
$760,097
1.99% |
$644,660
1.85% |
$503,097
1.57% |
Cost of Property and Equipment...................
|
$46,794,139 |
$46,004,108 |
$46,669,456 |
SELECTED
ACTIVITY MEASURES (not examined) |
FY 2008 |
FY 2007 |
Average Number of
Employees.................................... |
509 |
518 |
Average Number of
Residents
Skilled
Care.............................................................
Domiciliary
Care...................................................... |
414
38 |
433
42 |
Ratio of Employees to Residents:
Skilled
Care.............................................................
Domiciliary
Care...................................................... |
1.23/1
13.39/1 |
1.20/1
12.33/1 |
Average Annual Cost of Care Per Resident
Skilled Care.............................................................
Domiciliary Care...................................................... |
$80,081
$45,859 |
$68,233
$38,785 |
HOME ADMINISTRATOR |
During Engagement Period: John Wingerter (7/1/06 to 4/15/07),
Bruce Vaca (4/16/07 to present)
Currently: Bruce Vaca |
(1) Includes all funds except the Residents' Trust Fund.
|
FINDINGS, CONCLUSIONS, AND
RECOMMENDATIONS NEED TO IMPROVE INTERNAL CONTROLS OVER CASH
RECEIPTS The Illinois Veterans’ Home at During the engagement period, we noted 4 cash receipts from
Commissary sales totaling $1,945 for October 15 - October 18, 2006 were
stolen. Home officials discovered the theft on October 19, 2006 when an
employee went to retrieve the money from the safe and found it missing.
Several employees had access to the drawer and safe. It is uncertain how
access to the safe was made or who removed the money. An investigation of the
missing funds was conducted by the police, but no one was ever charged with a
crime regarding this matter. Our review of internal controls revealed
inadequate controls over deposits by Home Commissary Fund staff. (Finding 1, page 8) The Fiscal Control and Internal Auditing Act (30 ILCS 10/3001)
requires State agencies to establish and maintain a system, or systems, of
internal fiscal and administrative controls to provide assurance that funds,
property, and other assets and resources are safeguarded against waste, loss,
unauthorized use, and misappropriation. We recommend that the Home evaluate their internal control procedures
over cash receipts and monitor the changes made to these internal controls. Home officials accepted our finding and recommendation and stated procedures
were implemented shortly after the theft occurred to significantly control
cash deposits in order to deter theft. As of December 1, 2008, the Business
Enterprise Program for the Blind has taken over operations over the Commissary
and the Home is no longer involved with Commissary operations. NONCOMPLIANCE WITH THE STATE OFFICIALS AND
EMPLOYEES ETHICS ACT The Home
did not have a timekeeping system that documented hours spent each day on
official State business by employee. The
State Officials and Employees Ethics Act (Act) (5 ILCS 430/5-5(c)) requires
each State agency to develop a written policy that includes work time
requirements and documentation of time worked. Additionally, the Act requires State
employees to periodically submit timesheets documenting the time spent each
day on official State business to the nearest quarter hour. (Finding 2, page 9) We
recommended the Home comply with the State Officials and Employees Ethics Act
by amending its policies regarding timekeeping requirements and document the
time spent on official State business to the nearest quarter hour. Home officials accepted
our finding and recommendation and stated that once the State Wide
Timekeeping System is implemented by Shared Services, the Home would be able
to comply with the State Officials and Employees Ethics Act.
AUDITORS' OPINION
We
conducted a compliance examination of the Illinois Veterans’ Home at
____________________________________
WILLIAM G. HOLLAND, Auditor General WGH:JAM:pp
SPECIAL ASSISTANT AUDITORS
Our special assistant auditors were Doehring, Winders & Co. LLP. |
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