REPORT DIGEST

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
ILLINOIS STATE FAIR

COMPLIANCE AUDIT AND
SUPPLEMENTARY
FINANCIAL
INFORMATION

For the Two Years Ended:
September 30, 2001

Summary of Findings:

Total this audit 3
Total last audit 10
Repeated from last audit 2

Release Date:
June 26, 2002

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State of Illinois
Office of the Auditor General

WILLIAM G. HOLLAND
AUDITOR GENERAL

To obtain a copy of the Report contact:
Office of the Auditor General
Attn: Records Manager
Iles Park Plaza
740 E. Ash Street
Springfield, IL 62703

(217)782-6046 or TDD (217) 524-4646

This Report Digest is also available on
the worldwide web at
http://www.state.il.us/auditor

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SYNOPSIS

  • The Comparative Statement of Revenues and Expenditures for the Illinois State Fair did not include all significant Fair-related expenditures
  • The Grandstand Ticket Office did not maintain adequate control of cash receipts and cash payments to contractors.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

{Revenues, expenditures and supplementary information are summarized on the reverse page.}

ILLINOIS DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
ILLINOIS STATE FAIR
COMPLIANCE AUDIT
For The Two Years Ended September 30, 2001

REVENUE AND EXPENDITURE STATISTICS

FY 2001

FY 2000

FY 1999

Total Revenue
Tickets
% of Revenue
Space Rental:Fair
% of Revenue
Entry Fees
% of Revenue
Promotions
% of Revenue

Total Expenditures (All Funds)
Personal Services
% of Expenditures
Other Payroll Costs (FICA, Retirement)
% of Expenditures
Contractual Services
% of Expenditures
Premiums and Awards
% of Expenditures
All Other Operations Items
% of Expenditures
(Deficiency) of Revenues Over Expenditures

$3,486,176
$2,080,798
59.7%
$901,861
25.9%
$243,058
6.9%
$260,459
7.5%

$5,234,086
$663,728
12.7%
$203,590
3.9%
$2,687,959
51.4%
$1,293,819
24.7%
$384,990
7.3%
$(1,747,910)

$3,678,521
$2,263,586
61.5%
$932,595
25.4%
$211,087
5.7%
$271,253
7.4%

$5,004,053
$694,449
13.9%
$206,405
4.1%
$2,288,764
45.7%
$1,154,034
23.1%
$660,401
13.2%
$(1,325,532)

$3,490,464
$1,985,728
56.9%
$1,167,116
33.4%
$337,620
9.7%
Not Included
N/A

$3,905,198
$619,344
15.8%
$179,557
4.6%
$1,978,609
50.7%
$881,643
22.6%
$246,045
6.3%
$(414,734)

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION

FY 2001

FY 2000

FY 1999

Employment Statistics (Approximate)

Full Time Employees
September through May (Temporary)
June (Temporary)
July through August (Temporary)

  • Selected Activity Measures

Gate Admissions – Tickets Sold (Unaudited)
Estimated Attendance (Unaudited)
Grandstand Shows – Tickets Sold Unaudited)
Grandstand Show Revenues
Grandstand Show Expenditures

  • Pari-mutuel Wagering

Pari-mutual Wagering Receipts
Pari-mutual Wagering Expenditures

 

10
10
44
158


257,104
1,130,000
38,978
$819,009
$1,190,950


$211,498
$285,821

 

10
10
45
164



276,236
1,162,000
54,343
$961,302
$1,195,506

 

$207,813
$271,905

 

10
16
64
231

 

251,952
1,063,059
59,296
$1,026,784
$1,140,042

 

$192,284
$291,459

AGENCY DIRECTOR

During Audit Period: Mr. Joseph Hampton
Currently: Mr. Joseph Hampton

 

 

 

 

 

 

An estimated $2,360,000 of fair-related expenditures for the 2001 Illinois State Fair were excluded from the Comparative Statement of Revenues and Expenditures

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cash payments of $94,940 and $89,385 were paid to a lessee for the 2001 and 2000 State Fair, respectively, without obtaining a receipt

 

 

 

$496,659 paid to entertainers for the 2001 State Fair from the imprest account were paid without proper documentation

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

FINDINGS, CONCLUSIONS, AND
RECOMMENDATIONS

NEED TO IMPROVE REPORTING

The comparative statement of revenues and expenditures did not include all significant fair-related expenditures.

Most Illinois State Fair costs are paid from the State Fair Fund and direct Fair-related General Revenue Fund appropriations. The Comparative Statement of Revenues and Expenditures excludes various fair-related expenditures from the Springfield Building and Grounds appropriation that were not directly appropriated or readily identifiable as expenditures of the State Fair.

Department management indicated that during the current audit period, the Department developed a management report called the Cost/Revenue Analysis Schedules for the Illinois State Fair and Analysis of Springfield Building and Grounds Bureau Expenditures in order to identify all significant fair-related expenditures. The report for 2001 was not completed in time to utilize in the preparation of the 2001 and 2000 Illinois State Fair Comparative Statement of Revenues and Expenditures. Department management has estimated that expenditures from the Building and Grounds appropriation for the 2001 Illinois State Fair were approximately $2,360,000. (Finding 1, page 8)

We recommended the Department develop and complete the Cost/Revenue Analysis Schedule and Analysis of Springfield Building and Grounds Bureau Expenditures in a timely manner in order to facilitate accurate reporting and accounting for the Illinois State Fair.

Department officials accepted our recommendation and responded that the analysis would be completed and incorporated into the Illinois State Fair Comparative Statement of Revenue and Expenditures for future fairs.

INADEQUATE CONTROL OF CASH RECEIPTS AND CASH PAYMENTS TO CONTRACTORS

The Grandstand Ticket Office did not maintain adequate control of cash receipts and cash payments to contractors. During our audit we noted the following:

  • The Office failed to maintain adequate records for cash payments to a lessee of $94,940 and $89,385 for the 2001 and 2000 State Fairs, respectively. The Office did not consistently retain bank deposit receipts or receipts for direct cash remittances to the lessee.
  • Although daily cash drawer reconciliations were performed, a cumulative cash receipts ledger was not maintained to reconcile the total ticket sales received and the total amount deposited.
  • The Office did not obtain signed documentation verifying a $7,150 cash payment to an entertainer for a 2001 State Fair concert.
  • Twelve payments totaling $496,659 were paid to entertainers for the 2001 State Fair from the imprest account without an accompanying "request to pay document" as required by SAMS Procedure 33.10.10. As such there was no documentation of who received the check for the entertainers.

Department personnel stated that the lack of procedures to obtain signed documentation of cash payments or to perform cumulative reconciliations of cash receipts was due to an oversight. Also, Department personnel stated that they were unaware of the SAMS requirement to complete a "request to pay" document for imprest disbursements. (Finding 3, pages 10-11)

Department officials accepted our recommendation to establish internal controls documenting all disbursements and to reconcile cash receipts to deposits.

OTHER FINDING

The remaining finding was less significant and is reportedly being given attention by the Department. We will review progress toward implementing our recommendations in our next audit.

Mr. Joseph Hampton, Director, provided the responses to our findings and recommendations.

AUDITORS’ OPINION

The supplementary financial information of the Illinois State Fair, except for the portion marked "unaudited", was subjected to auditing procedures applied in our special State financial related audit testing and internal control review. With respect to the items tested, except for the possible effects on the supplementary information of Illinois State Fair expenditures charged to the General Revenue Fund and omitted from the comparative statement of revenues and expenditures as noted in Finding 1 and in Note 1 to the comparative statement of revenues and expenditures, our auditors stated no matters were noted that require adjustment to the accompanying supplementary information.

 

 

 

_______________________________________

WILLIAM G. HOLLAND, Auditor General

 

WGH:JAF:pp

 

SPECIAL ASSISTANT AUDITORS

Our Special assistant auditors for this audit were Sleeper, Disbrow, Morrison, Tarro & Lively, LLC.