Delinquent recommendations decreased by 29% in 2009
(June 29, 2010)
OPA released its semi-annual Audit Recommendations Tracking Report for the period ending December 31, 2009. Forty-eight audit recommendations were tracked 2009. Of the 48 audit recommendations, two were closed and 46 remained either open or resolved. Of the 46 open or resolved recommendations, 30 were considered delinquent.
Delinquent Recommendations
The number of delinquent recommendations decreased by 12 (29%) from 42 in 2008 to 30 in 2009. Agencies with delinquent recommendations as of December 31, 2009 include the Commonwealth Ports Authority, Commonwealth Utilities Corporation, Department of Finance, Department of Public Lands, Department of Public Safety, Northern Marianas College, Northern Mariana Islands Retirement Fund, and the Public School System. The recommendations addressed to these agencies were classified as delinquent as OPA was not informed by these agencies within the last 180 days of any corrective action taken to implement OPA’s recommendations.
Potential Recovery of $2.6 Million Referred to the AGO
As of December 31, 2009, audit recommendations in 7 audit reports were referred to the Attorney General’s Office for legal action to recover monies improperly expended. According to these 7 audit reports, approximately $2.6 million is potentially recoverable. On December 1, 2009, OPA met with the Attorney General to discuss the status of these referrals. The Attorney General advised OPA that AGO will conduct further review of these referrals and will provide OPA the results of its review. As such, the status of these referrals remains unchanged.
Potential Recovery of $3.7 Million Depend on Agencies’ Action
OPA identified potential recoveries of approximately $3.7 million in 8 audit reports addressed to various agencies. During its semi-annual follow-up process for the period July 1, 2009 through December 31, 2009, OPA has not received any update on the status of recovery of funds from the responsible agencies. Therefore, approximately $3.7 million remains potentially recoverable from the previous report as of June 30, 2009.
Independent Auditor’s Recommendations
OPA also includes in its Audit Recommendation Tracking Report a total of 147 recommendations
from 12 recent audit reports issued by private CPA firms.
