REPORT DIGEST

PRISONER REVIEW BOARD

COMPLIANCE EXAMINATION

For the Two Years Ended:

June 30, 2006

Summary of Findings:

Total this audit 4

Total last audit 5

Repeated from last audit 1

Release Date:

April 5, 2007

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 Report is also available on the worldwide web at

http://www.auditor.illinois.gov

SYNOPSIS

¨ The Board did not comply with the State Officials and Employees Ethics Act.

¨ The Board did not maintain accurate property records.

¨ The Board did not have adequate controls over the deposit and accounting of cash receipts.

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

PRISONER REVIEW BOARD

COMPLIANCE EXAMINATION

For the Two Years Ended June 30, 2006

EXPENDITURE STATISTICS

FY 2006

FY 2005

FY 2004

Total Expenditures ...........................................

$1,228,969

$1,080,305

$1,312,478

Personal Services........................................

% of Total Expenditures.........................

Average No. of Employees....................

$718,899

58.50%

$722,059

66.84%

$775,900

59.12%

Other Payroll Costs (FICA, Retirement)................

% of Total Expenditures.........................

$111,895

9.11%

$169,148

15.65%

$135,526

10.32%

Contractual Services....................................

% of Total Expenditures.........................

$202,324

16.46%

$19,755

1.83%

$169,965

12.95%

Travel.................................................................

% of Total Expenditures....................................

$86,425

7.03%

$60,568

5.61%

$107,990

8.23%

All Other Items............................................

% of Total Expenditures.........................

$109,426

8.90%

$108,775

10.07%

$123,097

9.38%

Cost of Property and Equipment (not examined)..

$540,410

$535,698

SELECTED ACTIVITY MEASURES (not examined)

FY 2006

FY 2005

FY 2004

CASE REVIEWS

ADULTS:

Parole Reviews................................................

Mandatory Supervised Releases........................

Good Conduct Credit Reviews...........................

All Others........................................................

Total Adult Considerations...................................

195

25,069

4,921

21,315

51,500

224

30,645

4,794

21,178

56,841

200

26,112

4,863

17,120

48,295

JUVENILES:

Parole Reviews................................................

Discharge Reviews...........................................

All Others........................................................

Total Juveniles Reviewed.....................................

1,862

506

2,498

4,866

2,057

517

2,067

4,641

2,138

461

1,740

4,339

AGENCY CHAIRMAN

During Audit Period: Jorge Montes

Currently: Jorge Montes

Board did not require employees to document time spent on official State business

Property items not appropriately tagged

Board’s property records could not be reconciled to reports submitted to the Office of the Comptroller

No receipts ledger maintained by the Board

FINDINGS, CONCLUSIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS

NONCOMPLIANCE WITH THE STATE OFFICIALS AND EMPLOYEES ETHICS ACT

The Board did not comply with the State Officials and Employees Ethics Act. Board employees were required to sign in upon arriving at work and sign out upon leaving work. However, the timesheets did not document the total hours spent each day on official State business.

The State Officials and Employees Ethics Act (Act) 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 1, page 8)

We recommended the Board comply with the Act by amending its policies regarding timekeeping requirements and require employees to document the time spent on official State business to the nearest quarter hour.

Board officials accepted our finding and recommendation and stated they have added a field in the currently maintained logbook whereby the employees’ document and certify the numbers of hours worked per day on State of Illinois business.

NEED TO IMPROVE REPORTING OF FIXED ASSETS

The Board did not maintain accurate property records. We noted the following:

· Four items were not tagged or included on the property records.

· Eleven items that were transferred-in were not clearly marked to indicate that they were the property of the State of Illinois.

In addition, the auditors could not reconcile the Board’s property records as of June 30, 2006 to the Quarterly Fixed Asset Report submitted to the Office of the Comptroller. The Board entered into an Interagency Agreement to have the Department of Corrections perform all of the Board’s financial activities which included the maintenance of the Board’s property records. It was noted that the Department retagged the Board’s property and entered the equipment into the Department’s system as a separate division. We compared the Board’s previous property records to the Department’s property records and noted the following discrepancies:

· Forty property items totaling $66,634 were on the Board’s property records but were not included on the Department’s property records.

· Fifteen property items were recorded on the Department’s property records at a different value resulting in an overstatement of $5,561.

· Six property items totaling $48,891 were included on the Department’s property records that were not on the Board’s original records. (Finding 2, pages 9-10) This finding was first reported in 2002.

We recommended the Board comply with the Illinois Administrative Code and the State Property Control Act by ensuring all property under its jurisdiction is recorded accurately on their property records.

Board officials accepted our finding and recommendation and stated they have implemented an automated property control system. The system will add internal controls to help prevent the errors noted in the audit. (For the previous Board response, see Digest Footnote #1)

NEED TO IMPROVE CONTROLS OVER RECEIPTS

The Board did not have adequate controls over the deposit and accounting of cash receipts. We noted the following:

· Ten of 13 receipts tested totaling $27,660 did not contain documentation of the date received, so timeliness of deposit could not be determined.

· Receipts were not recorded in the Board’s records. The Board did not maintain a cash receipts ledger or a list of receipts received.

· Three State warrants received by the Board that were duplicate payments to vendors were incorrectly deposited into the State Treasury. (Finding 3, pages 11-12)

We recommended the Board strengthen controls over cash receipts by maintaining a record of each receipt including the date, payor, purpose and amount and ensure receipts are deposited timely. In addition, we recommended the Board implement control to identify duplicate payments and follow the Statewide Accounting Management System procedures for canceling warrants when necessary.

Board officials accepted our finding and recommendation and stated they are implementing the same procedures and controls as the Department of Corrections in an effort to address the additional internal controls and items received will be date stamped.

OTHER FINDING

The remaining finding addresses employee performance evaluations not completed timely. Our finding and recommendation is reportedly being given attention by the Board. We will review progress toward implementation of all recommendations in our next compliance examination.

AUDITORS’ OPINION

We conducted a compliance examination of the Prisoner Review Board as required by the Illinois State Auditing Act. 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:TLD:pp

AUDITORS ASSIGNED

This audit was performed by the Office of the Auditor General's staff.

DIGEST FOOTNOTES

#1 - INACCURATE AND UNTIMELY REPORTING OF FIXED ASSETS

2004: Accepted. The Board concurs with the finding on inaccurate reporting of its property control. The Board will comply with appropriate rules regarding property control and recording. The Board is in discussions with the Department of Corrections to have the Department take on inventory control duties as part of an Interagency Agreement between the Department and the Board.