Key Audit Issues 2016 highlights primary concerns with government finances, notes nearly $1.8 billion in waste and inefficiencies

A failure to address recurring issues, a lack of effective internal controls, and nearly $1.8 billion in waste and inefficiencies continue to challenge the state, according to the Legislative Auditor’s annual report, Key Audit Issues 2016, which was released to the public today.

The report summarizes some of the more than 4,000 reports released in calendar year 2015 and focuses on major concerns discovered by LLA. The $1.8 billion in waste and inefficiencies was found through mandatory reporting to the Joint Legislative Committee on the Budget. State law requires that the auditor’s office report quarterly to the Joint Legislative Committee on the Budget all audit findings that exceed $150,000.

The annual report was prepared to comply with state law and to highlight significant issues facing state and local governments in 2016. Purpera said that the annual report brings out two major themes, “the failure to address the same audit findings year after year and the lack of effective internal controls, which is an ongoing problem.”

“In both instances,” Purpera continued, “state and local governments lose money, which hampers their ability to provide services, and the public’s trust is undermined. The ramifications of these problems are even more acute considering the state is facing a nearly $2.5 billion revenue shortfall over the 2016 and 2017 fiscal years.”

In addition to the issues of noted, the report highlights a new service of the LLA – the Center for Local Government Excellence. Introduced in 2015, the center provides hands-on training workshops that introduce participants to the basics of internal control, accounting and financial reporting, and some of the legal issues faced by local government officials and their staffs.