[PDF] - Presentation Outline OLA overview Financial Audit Division PDF Document

SLIDE 1

Office of the Legislative Auditor

State of Minnesota

Office of the Legislative Auditor

Legislative Audit Commission October 7, 2019

2

Presentation Outline

O L A

OLA overview
Financial Audit Division
Program Evaluation Division
Special reviews
Strengths and challenges

Office of the Legislative Auditor October 7, 2019 1

SLIDE 2

Origins

LAC and OLA established in 1973
Nationwide movement to strengthen state

legislatures

Bring more staff into the legislative branch
Including independent, nonpartisan

auditors, evaluators, and investigators

3

O L A

OLA’s Mission

Strengthen legislative oversight

and accountability in government

Improve financial management of

government organizations and the performance of government programs

4

O L A

Office of the Legislative Auditor October 7, 2019 2

SLIDE 3

5

OLA’s Primary Goal

O L A

Produce assessments of government
rganizations and programs that are:
Accurate, Objective, Timely, Useful
OLA reports must have credibility

6

Organizational Independence

O L A

Legislative Auditor serves a 6-year term
OLA staff have protections
Work products controlled by OLA

Office of the Legislative Auditor October 7, 2019 3

SLIDE 4

7

Personal Independence

O L A

Legislative Auditor and OLA staff must

not work on an assignment if they have,

r could be perceived to have, an

independence impairment (i.e., a conflict

f interest).

8

Jurisdiction

O L A

Executive Branch

Constitutional

Officers

Departments

and Agencies

Boards and

Commissions Judicial Branch

Courts
Administrative

Offices Higher Education

University of

Minnesota

Minnesota

State Metropolitan Government

Metropolitan

Council

Mosquito

Control District

Metropolitan

Airports Commission Nonprofit Organizations

Historical

Society

Agricultural

Utilization Research Institute

Enterprise

Minnesota

ClearWay

Minnesota

State

Agricultural Society Other

Public money

paid to nonprofit

rganizations,

vendors, and

thers to

provide public services.

Office of the Legislative Auditor October 7, 2019 4

SLIDE 5

Authority

Access to all documents or data,

regardless of classification

Public officials, employees, and others

required to cooperate with OLA

Authority to issue subpoenas
Ability to protect the identity of sources

9

O L A

Responsibilities

Financial statement audits
Financial control and compliance audits
Information technology audits
Program and organization evaluations
Investigations

10

O L A

Office of the Legislative Auditor October 7, 2019 5

SLIDE 6

11

Organization

O L A

63 professionals
Financial Audit Division
Program Evaluation Division
Special Reviews Unit
IT, Legal, and Administrative Support

12

Appropriations

O L A

$0 $1,000,000 $2,000,000 $3,000,000 $4,000,000 $5,000,000 $6,000,000 $7,000,000 $8,000,000 $9,000,000 FY 2014 FY 2015 FY 2016 FY 2017 FY 2018 FY 2019 FY 2020 FY 2021 General Fund PSP Audit Transit Activity Reviews DHS Eligibility & MCO Audits MNLARS/VTRS Transportation & DPS Audits

$6.2M $8.3M $6.3M $6.6M $6.7M $7.0M $7.7M $8.2M

} 10% for dedicated

purposes

Office of the Legislative Auditor October 7, 2019 6

SLIDE 7

13

Expenditures

O L A

Compensation is 92% of

OLA expenditures

$266,600 (3.75%)

for lease

$161,300 (2.25%) for IT-

related expenses

Staff Compensation

14

O L A

Financial Audit Division

Office of the Legislative Auditor October 7, 2019 7

SLIDE 8

15

Financial Audit Division Work

O L A Discretionary 38% Required 62%

Most work done by the division is required by law

16

Required Audit Work

O L A

Financial Statements Federal Programs Health Care Programs Motor Vehicle and Drivers Licensing

Office of the Legislative Auditor October 7, 2019 8

SLIDE 9

17

Discretionary Audit Work

O L A

Assess fiscal controls

and compliance with finance-related legal requirements

Topics selected by

OLA, with input from policymakers

18

Strategy: Policymaker-Focused Reports

O L A

More

understandable conclusions

Increased use of

visuals

Topics that are

important to legislators

Office of the Legislative Auditor October 7, 2019 9

SLIDE 10

Strategy: Increased Subject Matter Expertise

Education, Environment and Nonstate Health and Safety and General Information Human Economy Government Technology Services 11 FTE 8 FTE 8 FTE 8 FTE 2 FTE

19

O L A

Strategy: More IT Audit Reports

Only two dedicated IT

auditors

OLA hopes to use its

expertise to help legislators better understand complex IT topics

20

O L A

Office of the Legislative Auditor October 7, 2019 10

SLIDE 11

21

Work in Progress

O L A

AELSLAGID Board
US Bank Stadium Reserve
MCO Dental & Mental Health

Encounter Data

Business Continuity Management
DPS Bulk Data Sales
MINNCOR Industries
METS Health Care Eligibility

System

Disability Services
Medical Cannabis Program
Minnesota State Park Revenues
Regenerative Medicine Minnesota
SMART Program
State of MN Financial Statements
Pension Fund Financial Statements
Federal Program Single Audit
VTRS (Formerly MNLARS)

22

O L A

Program Evaluation Division

Office of the Legislative Auditor October 7, 2019 11

SLIDE 12

23

Program Evaluation Division Overview

O L A

16 staff
Subject matter generalists
5-7 program evaluations annually

24

Program Evaluation Topic Selection Process

O L A

Legislators and others suggest topics
Legislative Audit Commission narrows down list
Staff develop background information
Survey legislators to gauge interest
Legislative Audit Commission selects final topics

Office of the Legislative Auditor October 7, 2019 12

SLIDE 13

25

Program Evaluation Topic Selection Criteria

O L A

State Control & Resources Impact Timeliness Feasibility Balance

?

26

Current Program Evaluations

O L A

Compensatory Education Revenue
Minnesota Department of Human

Rights

DHS Oversight of Personal Care

Assistance

Pesticide Regulation
Public Utilities Commission’s Public

Participation Processes

Safety in State Correctional Facilities

Office of the Legislative Auditor October 7, 2019 13

SLIDE 14

27

Conducting Evaluations

O L A

Work in teams
Scope project
Multiple research methods
Internal and agency draft review
Sourcing and verification
Data analysis
Interviews
Legal review
Literature review
Site visits
Surveys

28

O L A

Special Reviews and Investigations

Office of the Legislative Auditor October 7, 2019 14

SLIDE 15

Special Reviews and Investigations

Involve Special Review Director and other

available staff as needed

Initiated by OLA in response to specific

concerns

Not part of regular work schedule

29

O L A

Allegations and Other Reports to OLA

“Report Wrongdoing” link on OLA website
More than 200

allegations and

ther reports

so far in 2019

Internal review of these

reports every two weeks

Loss or Theft Reports Reports of Data Breaches Allegations

r Complaints

30

O L A

Office of the Legislative Auditor October 7, 2019 15

SLIDE 16

31

After Receiving a Complaint, OLA:

O L A

Conducts a “preliminary assessment”

 Does OLA have jurisdiction?  Is there evidence of wrongdoing?  How important is the allegation?

May refer issue to another agency or OLA division
May begin a special review
May close the complaint or assign it low priority

32

Recent Work Products

O L A

Office of the Legislative Auditor October 7, 2019 16

SLIDE 17

33

OLA’s Strengths

O L A

Independence
Clear mission and goals
Strong authority
Dedicated professionals
Legislative and public support

34

OLA’s Challenges

O L A

Meeting standards and goals
Work vs. resources
Turnover and hiring

Office of the Legislative Auditor October 7, 2019 17

SLIDE 18

35

O L A

Questions?

james.nobles@state.mn.us joel.alter@state.mn.us chris.buse@state.mn.us judy.randall@state.mn.us

Office of the Legislative Auditor October 7, 2019 18

SLIDE 19

SLIDE 20