Agency audit deadline nears
No auditing firm picked
The newly created Agency Performance and Accountability Commission has not yet picked the auditing firm that will take an in-depth look at state agencies over the next four years.
Time is running out to complete the first round of audits, as the proposed contract requires six of the largest agencies to be reviewed by Dec. 31.
Lawmakers approved the creation of APAC this year and hoped to have an initial report by the time they returned to the Capitol in regular session. According to the bill that created the agency, reviews will offer “an analysis of the economy, efficiency, effectiveness and compliance of the policies, management, fiscal affairs and operations of state agencies, divisions, programs and accounts.”
Delays have postponed the awarding of a contract, causing the APAC to cancel its first request for proposals and reissue it in June. The original notice was sent out incorrectly, and the attorney general suggested that the commission resubmit its request for proposals.
“I’m sure there will be awards soon, and then we’ll get started with the actual audits,” said Chairman Bob Sullivan, an independent oil operator from Tulsa.
The commission typically meets on the last Thursday of the month, so that would likely be the soonest that its members can decide who will start the first round of audits on the Oklahoma Tax Commission, Office of Management and Enterprise Services, Department of Corrections, Department of Public Safety, District Attorneys Council and the Office of Juvenile Affairs.
Once the contractor is picked, they will have to provide a preliminary report by Oct. 31, with a final report due by the end of the calendar year in time for the 2019 legislative session that begins in February.
‘It’s a different approach’
T.C. Burgin, an Oklahoma City certified public accountant who sits on the commission, acknowledged the delays but said he believes it can be
done by the deadline.
“This being the initial year, you’ve got some stumbling blocks we’ve had to overcome,” he said. “But we believe that we can get to the end of the year and have a report. That’s what we’re striving for, so we can give the Legislature something that they can then look at and see some results.”
Burgin is among those evaluating proposals, and noted that the work on a performance audit is different from what would be needed for a traditional financial audit.
“It’s a different approach, and so from that standpoint, I think all of us are trying to get the best job that we can done, but in some cases, there’s been more delays than what any of us anticipated,” he said. “We’re still pushing that come December, we’ll have the necessary documentation that’s required by the law.”
Sullivan said he hopes to meet with agency chiefs soon as work begins on evaluating where those agencies might save money or improve services.
“I’m really anxious for the agencies to view us not as something to be feared or to be concerned about,” Sullivan said. “But rather it’s an undertaking that will hopefully make them feel good and better about delivering either more services for the same appropriated funds, or for less appropriated funds once they’ve seen some suggestions from the consultants about how it might be done better.”