Audit deficiencies nothing to dismiss

CLAREMORE — Oklahoma State Auditor Gary Jones is weighing in on the recent audits conducted in Rogers County.

Three years of audits were recently released for the county and a number of findings have caused concern among area residents.

Jones was eager to clarify the findings and inform the public about the significance of the audits.

“This is a huge problem across the state,” Jones said. “We would not have put it [noted deficiencies] in our report if it wasn’t an issue.”

The issue goes back a number of years, Jones said. The previous auditor had not been conducting audits every two years as required.

This prompted his office to “catch up” on audits.

The office has conducted 191 audits of 57 counties in the past 19 months.

“If we continue the same pace, we will be caught up in a year,” Jones said.

The backlog of audits created a belief that “work as usual” was OK. Since they did not have an audit, they assumed they were following procedure, he said.

There was a misinterpretation of what was expected by the county, especially when dealing with FEMA funding, according to Jones.

Despite the lack of audits and confusion, county officials are still responsible for keeping track of records and following state statutes, Jones sadi.

The county received an adverse opinion in the 2007 audit, which is the worst rating they could receive, Jones added.

The 2008, 2009 and 2010 audits had both significant and material deficiencies. The audits were also considered to be “qualified.”

All of the terms denote findings that are relevant and important to take seriously, Jones said.

The auditors, however, did not have enough information to issue an opinion so we had to issue a disclaimer.

This does not lessen the concern or limit the county’s responsibility. It just notes that the auditors could not find the required paperwork to substantiate the claims.

Jones said that with FEMA paperwork often time county officials believe FEMA is auditing them and once they receive approval from that agency then they do not need the paperwork.

“They [county officials] should be keeping records until after they are audited,

Normal retention is five years,” Jones said.

Jones also explained that the issues raised in the audit were the result of a number of different circumstances.

“We are not saying there is not an issue here and that this is not important,” Jones said. “It goes back to an issue with the culture that had occurred in the past.”

Previously, the auditor's office would prepare financial statements for the county.

This is no longer the procedure and county officials have been trained on proper procedures, Jones explained.

“That is why his previous statements should be clarified,” Jones added.

Jones would like citizens to understand that the issues are taken very seriously, that the previous culture and lack of oversight do not excuse mistakes or the lack of record keeping. The fundamental requirements for the counties have been put into place for many years, Jones said.

Jones acknowledges there may been some cases where county officials did not understand requirements regarding FEMA funds.

The auditor’s office is working with FEMA and Oklahoma Emergency Management to streamline reporting practices to improve the process, he said.

The bottom line, county governments are responsible for record keeping.

“The county is responsible for the information whether they know it or not,” Jones said.

The auditor’s office hosted a number of training session in 2011, and more than 800 people were in attendance.

“It is OK for us to communicate and tell them what is required, but we can’t do the work for them,” Jones said.

Regional training sessions have also been available to county officials.

Jones said this problem is statewide.

“We [office of the auditor] are not trying to down play the audit at all, it is a problem we have had across the state,” Jones said.

Jones addedd his previous statements regarding the relevancy of the past auditor versus the future activities.

“They [the county] should be held accountable for the what they have done so far,” Jones said. “But when somebody brings it to you attention we have a greater expectations.

“I find it is humorous that someone would say we are not holding them accountable.”

According to Jones, the audits are taken seriously.

“We [office of the auditor] want the county officials and the public to know there is a proper way to do it and there is oversight,” he said.

Jones explained that people are holding government more accountable and are taking notice.

The issue with Rogers County is primarily a lack of documentation and “ it does open people up for the opportunity for fraud,” Jones said.

Fraud may not have been noted in the report because none was found with the test sample taken, according to Jones.

In fact an opinion could not be issued because “there just was not enough information”, that is why the audit has a disclaimer, he said.

“We are accessing the risk for something to happen,” Jones said.

Jones was very clear to explain that the audit does not clear or denote future action that can be taken against the county.

It is a snapshot in time with the information that is available.

Finding are past on to other agencies per state requirement. It is up to those agencies to determine if criminal action is to be taken.

“You [the county] are still responsible for it, although you can not change the past,” Jones said.

UPDATED: ME releases names of tornado victims

Government

Search Results

Related Photos

Audit deficiencies nothing to dismiss

Rogers County received state’s worst audit rating it could receive in 2007

Over the past two weeks the price of a gallon of gas has jumped more than 20 cents. As of Wednesday, it cost 3.64. What do you attribute the sudden rise in cost?

Site Map

Contact Us