Agency audit firms picked
Four auditing firms will have until the end of the year to conduct performance audits of six of Oklahoma’s biggest state agencies.
The companies were selected in early August and most have already begun meeting with agency leaders. The Agency Performance and Accountability Commission (APAC) confirmed the choices on Thursday and will oversee the process until reports are turned in to lawmakers ahead of the next regular session.
Lawmakers approved the creation of APAC this year with House Bill 2311. The bill passed largely on a party line vote in the wake of a multimillion-dollar financial scandal at the Oklahoma State Department of Health.
Alvarez & Marsal will audit the Department of Public Safety, District Attorneys Council and Department of Corrections. The company bid $543,254.
PFM Group Consulting was selected to audit the Office of Management and Enterprise Services for $302,250.
The KPMG firm will conduct a performance audit of the Oklahoma Tax Commission. Its bid was $312,480.
An audit for the Office of Juvenile Affairs will be handled by the BKD accounting firm for $212,913.
More agencies will be audited in future years, and the commission has formed a committee of its members to determine which departments will be examined next.
The idea of an independent audit commission isn’t new; lawmakers have tried before. The Oklahoma State Auditor and Inspector also has the ability to conduct performance audits when requested by either the governor or by leaders of the state House and Senate.
“We have been pushing for performance audits for 7 ½ years,” said State Auditor Gary Jones, who has been critical of creating new state entities to conduct audits without his office being involved.
When the audits are complete, state law requires agencies to follow each of the recommendations unless specifically exempted by the Legislature. If a state agency fails to implement a recommendation, they must explain or justify why.
During the commission meeting Thursday, Oklahoma Tax Commission Director Tony Mastin told the group that no one from KPMG had reached out to him or any of the Oklahoma Tax Commission members.
That was surprising news to members of the commission who had already sat in on meetings between other firms and their agencies.
Time is running out to complete the first round of audits, as the proposed contract requires reports to be finished by Dec. 31. Delays postponed the awarding of a contract, causing the commission to cancel its first request for proposals and reissue it in June. The original notice was sent out incorrectly, and the attorney general’s office had suggested that the commission resubmit its request for proposals.