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REPORT DIGEST ILLINOIS BOARD OF EXAMINERS COMPLIANCE
EXAMINATION For the Two Years Ended: June 30, 2007 Summary of Findings: Total this report 7 Total last report 2 Repeated from last report 2 Release Date: May 22, 2008
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 Iles Park Plaza 740 E. Ash Street Springfield, IL 62703 (217) 782-6046 or TTY (888) 261-2887 This Report and Full Digest
are also available on the worldwide web at http://www.auditor.illinois.gov |
SYNOPSIS
¨ The Board incurred inappropriate and excessive expenditures and did not adequately monitor and document expenditures for meals, gifts, and travel. ¨ The Board did not have adequate internal controls over the use of Procurement Cards (P-Cards). ¨ The Board did not have adequate internal controls over contractual services and agreements. ¨ The Board did not complete and file required reports. {Expenditures and Activity Measures are summarized on the reverse page.} |
ILLINOIS BOARD OF EXAMINERS
COMPLIANCE
EXAMINATION
For The
Year Ended June 30, 2007
|
CPA
EXAMINATION TRUST ACCOUNT |
FY 2007
|
FY 2006
|
FY 2005
|
Balance at July 1 ..............................
|
$3,213,307 |
$2,922,380 |
$2,761,721 |
|
Board Adjustment…………….............
|
$0 |
$3,217 |
$0 |
|
Receipts Fees....................................................... Interest Income..................................... |
$1,219,161 $172,374 |
$1,188,890 $129,032 |
$1,103,580 $62,564 |
|
Disbursements.........................................
|
$1,135,685 |
$1,030,212 |
$1,005,485
|
|
Balance at June 30...................................
|
$3,469,157 |
$3,213,307 |
$2,922,380
|
|
|
|
|
|
Cost of Property and Equipment............. |
$178,348 |
$109,435 |
$98,063 |
SELECTED ACTIVITY MEASURES
(Not
Examined) |
FY 2007 |
FY 2006 |
FY 2005 |
|
Average pass rates by section ·
Auditing
(AUD).................................... ·
Business
Environment and Concepts (BEC)................................................. ·
Financial
Accounting Reporting ·
Regulation
(REG).................................. Number
of candidates that passed the Uniform CPA Exam...................................................... First-time
candidates for exam......................... |
48.9% 52.2% 52.7% 49.5% 1,222 2,166 |
46.2% 50.2% 47.2% 43.8% 1,106 1,677 |
47.6% 53.4% 46.7% 43.7% 1,006 2,001 |
|
EXECUTIVE
DIRECTOR |
|
During Examination Period: Ms. Joanne Vician Currently: Ms. Joanne Vician |
|
Payments for excessive meal costs, alcohol, sales taxes, gifts and
flowers Travel expenses not
required by official State duties
Receipts were not
maintained Inadequate
segregation of duties over P-Cards
Reconciliations not
performed
Payments made to
vendors without a written contract
Competitive
selection requirements not followed
Required
certifications, reports and timesheets not submitted |
FINDINGS, CONCLUSIONS, AND
RECOMMENDATIONS
INAPPROPRIATE AND EXCESSIVE EXPENDITURES The Board of Examiners (Board) incurred inappropriate and excessive expenditures and did not adequately monitor and document expenditures for meals, gifts, and travel. The Board paid the following inappropriate or excessive costs: · Board member and employee meals which exceeded the amount allowed by travel guidelines by $2,303; · Lunches and a holiday party for staff at headquarters totaling $1,266; · Purchases of alcohol totaling $319; · Meal expenses for Board guests or Board members’ family totaling $1,197; · Sales tax totaling $207; · Travel expenses not required by official State duties or properly documented totaling $468; · Flowers and gifts bought for staff, Board members, and a non-State employee totaling $365; and · No receipts were maintained for purchases of flowers and meals totaling $187. (Finding 1, page 8-10) We recommended the Board ensure all expenditures are reasonable, necessary and in accordance with rules; implement controls to ensure compliance and appropriate use of State funds; maintain sufficient documentation for all disbursements; and seek reimbursements for travel overpayments. Board management concurred with the finding and stated $2,272 has been reimbursed. INADEQUATE PROCUREMENT CARD CONTROLS The Board did not have adequate internal
controls over the use of Procurement Cards (P-Cards). We
noted:
·
The Board did not
maintain an adequate segregation of duties regarding P-Card roles and
responsibilities. · Two professional and artistic service disbursements totaling $7,813 were paid with P-Cards contrary to policy. · The Board allowed P-Card purchases by someone other than the Cardholder. · P-Card account numbers were allowed to be placed on file with vendors. · A reconciliation of the Order Log to original receipts was not consistently performed due to lack of receipts. · The Board did not include all proper documentation in the Order Log or on receipts submitted for reconciliation. (Finding 2, pages 11-12) We recommended the Board ensure that policies
and procedures regarding P-Cards are clearly understood and followed by all
personnel involved in the P-Card Program.
Board management concurred with the finding and stated that P-Card duties have been segregated and the roles and responsibilities of P-Card usage have been clarified. LACK OF INTERNAL CONTROLS OVER CONTRACTUAL SERVICES AND AGREEMENTS The Board
did not have adequate internal controls over contractual services and
agreements.
·
For four vendors with payments totaling $237,528, a
contract was not written or filed with the Illinois Office of the Comptroller
(IOC).
·
The Board did not comply with competitive selection
requirements for two vendors paid a total of $44,268.
·
The Board did not
file its real property lease, which exceeded $67,000 a year, with the IOC.
·
Real Estate
Disclosure Forms were not completed for the real property lease. (Finding 3, pages 13-14) We recommended the Board strengthen controls to ensure contracts are
reduced to writing, filed with the IOC, and competitively procured; and to
ensure real property leases are filed with the IOC and have Real Estate
Disclosure Forms. Board management concurred with the finding and stated they will work to assure that all required paperwork is filed with the IOC, to familiarize themselves with required forms, and to strengthen controls over contractual services.
PROCEDURAL DEFICIENCIES OVER REPORTING The Board did not comply with the
following reporting requirements for FY06 and FY07:
·
The Board did not
file Fiscal Control and Internal Auditing Act certifications with the Office
of the Auditor General.
·
The Board did not
timely prepare and submit accurate Agency Workforce Reports to the Office of
the Governor or the Office of the Secretary of State.
·
The Board did not
prepare and file Travel Headquarter Reports with the Legislative Audit
Commission.
·
The Board did not
prepare and submit annual Fee Imposition Reports to the IOC.
·
The Board did not
require its only employee to periodically submit time sheets documenting the
time spent each day on official State business as required by statute. Only a report of leave time was submitted.
·
The Board did not
file required property reports with the IOC and Department of Central
Management Services. (Finding 7,
pages 20-22) We recommended the Board timely file required reports with the appropriate parties. Board management concurred with the finding and stated they will
hire additional staff to handle the timely submission of required forms to
the appropriate State offices. Further, management stated required reports
have now been filed or corrective action is underway. OTHER FINDINGS The remaining findings concerned property records, controls over processing waived fees, and Board member vacancies. We will review progress toward implementing all recommendations in our next examination.
ACCOUNTANTS’ REPORT
We conducted a compliance examination of the Board as required by the Illinois State Auditing Act. The accountants’ stated that the Board complied, in all material respects, with the compliance requirements, except for the noncompliance with applicable State laws and regulations as reported in Findings 3 and 7. We have not audited any financial statements of the Board for the purpose of expressing an opinion because the Board does not, nor is it required to, prepare financial statements. ____________________________________ WILLIAM G. HOLLAND, Auditor General WGH:LKW:hjy AUDITORS ASSIGNED
This examination was performed by the staff of the Office of the Auditor General. |