REPORT DIGEST

 

ILLINOIS CONSERVATION FOUNDATION

 

FINANCIAL AUDIT AND COMPLIANCE EXAMINATION

For the Year Ended: June 30, 2011

 

Release Date: February 9, 2012

 

Summary of Findings:

Total this audit: 4

Total last audit:  5

Repeated from last audit: 4

 

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, Iles Park Plaza, 740 E. Ash Street, Springfield, IL 62703

(217)    782-6046 or TTY (888) 261-2887

 

This Report Digest and Full Report are also available on the worldwide web at www.auditor.illinois.gov

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SYNOPSIS

 

• The Illinois Conservation Foundation’s (Foundation) year-end financial statements contained weaknesses and inaccuracies.  

 

• The Foundation did not present information on the internet concerning their investment of public funds as required by the Accountability for the Investment of Public Funds Act.    

 

FINDINGS, CONCLUSIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS

 

FINANCIAL STATEMENT PREPARATION

 

The Illinois Conservation Foundations (Foundation) year-end financial statements contained weaknesses and inaccuracies. 

 

Several errors were identified during the audit of the Foundation’s draft financial statements.  The Foundation’s financial statements were adjusted for the following reporting errors:

 

• An audit adjustment identified by management totaling $4.5 million was made by the auditors to record a donation of land, building and equipment.  As a result, revenue and assets was increased $4.5 million.

 

• The Foundation allocated the incorrect amount of on-behalf payments paid by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources on their behalf.  The Department failed to include the salary and benefit information paid to the Director’s assistant.

 

• The Foundation did not complete the comparative schedule of receipts, disbursements and fund balance (cash basis).  (Finding 1, page 14)

 

We recommended the Foundation implement additional internal control procedures to ensure financial statements are prepared in an accurate manner.

 

Foundation management accepted our recommendation.

 

NONCOMPLIANCE WITH ACCOUNTABILITY FOR THE INVESTMENT OF PUBLIC FUNDS ACT (ACT)

 

The Foundation did not present information on the internet concerning their investments of public funds as required by the Act.  The Foundation had various investment balances (debt securities, equity securities, commodities, mutual funds, real estate) totaling $2,552,436 that would be classified as public funds at June 30, 2011. 

 

The Accountability for the Investment of Public Funds Act (30 ILCS 237) requires each State agency to make available on the internet, and update as least monthly by the 15 of the month, sufficient information concerning the investment of any public funds held by the State Agency to identify the amount of funds held by the agency on the last day of the preceding month or the average daily balance for the preceding month, the total monthly investment income and the yield for all funds invested, the asset allocation of the investments, and a complete listing of all approved depository institutions, commercial paper issuers, and broker-dealers approved to do business with the agency.  (Finding 2, pages 15-16)   This finding was first reported in 2008.

 

We recommended the Foundation comply with the requirements of the Act and ensure the information concerning the investment of public funds is updated monthly by the 15th of each month. 

 

Foundation management respectfully disagreed with our recommendation and stated they will seek legislation to clarify its exemption from the Investment of Public Funds Act.   (For the previous Foundation response, see Digest Footnote #1.)

 

OTHER FINDINGS

 

The remaining findings pertain to: 1) disbursement processing weaknesses and 2) segregation of duties.  We will follow up on these findings during our next audit of the Foundation.

 

AUDITORS’ OPINION

 

            The auditors state the financial statements of the Illinois Conservation Foundation for the year ended June 30, 2011 are fairly stated in all material respects. 

 

 

WILLIAM G. HOLLAND

Auditor General

 

WGH:JSC

 

AUDITORS ASSIGNED

 

Kyle E. McGinnis, CPA was our special assistant auditor.

 

DIGEST FOOTNOTES

 

#1 – NONCOMPLIANCE WITH ACCOUNTABILITY FOR THE INVESTMENT OF PUBLIC FUNDS ACT (ACT) – Previous Foundation Response

 

2010:  The Foundation respectfully disagrees.  The Foundation is already exempt from the Investment of Public Funds Act and will seek legislation to clarify exemption from the subject Act.