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Taylor Releases 2007 State of Ohio Audit

Thursday, June 12, 2008

Columbus -

Auditor of State Mary Taylor today released the 2007 State of Ohio audit containing 53 findings relating to 10 state agencies and questioned costs totaling $7,428,461.

Audit findings are conclusions about the financial standing of an organization that are supported by information gained during the audit process.  Additionally, questioned costs are expenditures of federal funds that lack appropriate or sufficient documentation to support the expenditures, violate a federal law, or have been determined to be an unreasonable expense.

The below table summarizes the audit findings:

State Agency

Findings

Questioned Costs

Ohio Department of Job and Family Services

34

$7,147,884

Ohio Department of Education

5

37,560

Ohio Department of Health

3

0

Ohio Department of Public Safety

3

28,795

Ohio Department of Development

2

0

Ohio Department of Transportation

2

0

Ohio Department of Administrative Services

1

0

Ohio Office of Budget and Management

1

214,222

Ohio Secretary of State

1

0

Ohio Department of Mental Health

1

0

Total:

53

$7,428,461


Auditors also made recommendations to address internal controls in the audit management letter.  Ohio law requires the Director of the Ohio Office of Budget and Management (OBM) to provide the Ohio Auditor of State with financial statements each October.  The management letter notes that OBM did not provide our auditors with financial statements at the October deadline due to the challenges presented by the implementation of the Ohio Administrative Knowledge System.  Because the financial statements were not available until April 2008, the completion of the State audit was delayed.

Two of the management letter comments will be addressed with the full implementation of HB 166, the internal audit bill that was sponsored by state representative Carol-Ann Schindel (R – Leroy Township).  State senator Bob Spada (R-North Royalton) also assisted with the legislation by sponsoring a similar bill in the Ohio Senate.  The law, which was modeled from a legislative proposal drafted by Auditor Taylor, reforms the internal audit structure in state government by establishing a formal, centralized internal audit function and creating a state audit committee.  Both initiatives are recommended by auditors in the management letter.

A copy of the full audit is available online at http://www.auditor.state.oh.us/AuditSearch/Reports/2008/State_of_Ohio_Single_Audit_07_Franklin.pdf.