Audit report findings

From: St. Augustine Record - Aug 31, 2003

The Auditor General's report on Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind's operation listed 13 critical findings. They are:

Finding 1: The internal audit function was underutilized and reported to school management rather than to the Board of Trustees or an Internal audit committee.

Finding 2: Contrary to state law, for the fiscal years that ended June 30, 2001, and 2002, the school deposited approximately $1.17 million and $1.22 million, respectively, in accounts outside the State Treasury.

Finding 3: Incompatible duties were assigned to student bank employees.

Finding 4: Emergency and single source procurements were inadequately documented, or inappropriately applied, to eight contracts totaling $1.2 million.

Finding 5: Contrary to state law, the school hired a lobbyist to represent the school in legislative matters for fiscal years ended June 30, 2001, and 2002. Additionally, the $80,000 annual payments made to the lobbyist were not reported on the school's semiannual lobbyist expenditure reports.

Finding 6: Payments totaling approximately $34,000 for consultants' travel were not properly documented and paid in accordance with Section 112.061, Florida Statutes.

Finding 7: Acquisitions of real estate totaling approximately $2.2 million (including those currently under contract) were not made in accordance with applicable laws and rules, and good business practice.

Finding 8: The school's campus planning documents were not comprehensive and up-to-date and did not agree with one another in certain details; consequently, they did not provide assurance that the school's $67-million expansion and renovation efforts would be conducted in an organized and logical manner, and only as necessary to meet the legitimate needs of the school.

Finding 9: The school did not adequately monitor and review the performance of its construction manager, or the payment requests submitted by that manager, for approximately $239,000 of work related to the construction of an $8 million vocational-technical high school on the school's campus.

Finding 10: Controls and documentation related to the disposal of surplus tangible personal property were inadequate to support the disposal of approximately $448,000 of such property during the fiscal year ended June 30, 2001.

Finding 11: Contrary to Section 112.313(3), Florida Statutes, the school contracted for services with the privately held corporation of an Other Personal Services employee. The related payments, which totaled approximately $49,000, were used by the corporation to compensate another employee who had been placed on leave without pay status.

Finding 12: Fourteen of the 30 position descriptions reviewed had not been updated within the last three years.

Finding 13: The $579,000 medical services program with the University of Florida was not efficiently administered and the related reporting to the Legislature was not complete.

See the FSDB Report : http://www.state.fl.us/audgen/pages/pdf_files/03-095.pdf

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