REPORT DIGEST

LEGISLATIVE ETHICS COMMISSION

Financial Audit

For the Two Years Ended June 30, 2010

Summary of Findings:

Total this audit: 2

Total last audit: 2

Repeated from last audit: 1

Release Date: January 20, 2011

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

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SYNOPSIS

• The Commission did not timely prepare and file all required reports, did not record equipment purchases on its inventory timely, and did not maintain complete documentation as required.

FINDINGS, CONCLUSIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS

PROCEDURAL DEFICIENCIES

During our testing of the Legislative Ethics Commission (Commission), we noted procedural deficiencies. Some of the conditions we noted follow:

• The Commission did not prepare of file Fiscal Control and Internal Auditing Act (FCIAA) certifications with the Office of the Auditor General for Fiscal Years 2009 and 2010.

• The Commission submitted 2 of 4 (50%) Travel Headquarters (TA-2) reports to the Legislative Audit Commission 63 and 244 days late, respectively.

• The Commission did not timely record the purchase of 3 equipment items, totaling $433, on its property control listing. These items were recorded from 73 to 124 days late.

• The Commission did not maintain complete and proper documentation of its ratification of the compensation for the Legislative Inspector General. Per the limited documentation available, the Commission met in December 2009 and discussed an increase in hourly compensation for the Legislative Inspector General. A draft Commission resolution was prepared to this effect, but the meeting minutes do not reflect the hourly compensation rate decided during the meeting, nor was the draft resolution signed or filed with any of the parties indicated in the draft resolution. (Finding 1, pages 8-10)

We recommended the Commission ensure all required reports are prepared and filed timely as required. We also recommended the Commission ensure property items are added to inventory records timely. Lastly, we recommended the Commission ensure documentation of all essential transactions is maintained.

The Commission accepted our recommendation and indicated they have already started implementing our recommendations to improve reporting and recordkeeping functions.

OTHER FINDING

The remaining finding is reportedly being given attention by the Commission. We will review the Commission’s progress towards the implementation of our recommendations in our next engagement.

AUDITORS’ OPINION

We conducted a compliance examination of the Commission as required by the Illinois State Auditing Act. The Commission has no funds that require an audit leading to an opinion on financial statements.

WILLIAM G. HOLLAND

Auditor General

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AUDITORS ASSIGNED:

The examination was performed by the Office of the Auditor General’s staff.