FINDINGS, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
CONTROLS
OVER COMPLIANCE WITH LAWS AND REGULATIONS
The Regional Office of Education #30
did not comply with certain statutory administrative
requirements.
The
Illinois School Code (105 ILCS 5/3-14.21) requires the Regional
Superintendent to inspect and survey all public schools under his supervision
and notify the board of education, or the trustees of schools in a district
with trustees, in writing before July 30, whether or not the several schools
in their district have been kept as required by law. The Regional Superintendent is to report
his or her findings to the State Board of Education on forms provided by the
State Board of Education.
The Regional Office did not submit the required Annual Inspection
Report, as provided by the Illinois State Board of Education, for their
fiscal year 2004 inspections prior to July 30, 2005. Regional Office officials
stated they were unaware of the date the reports were required to be
submitted.
The Illinois School Code (105 ILCS
5/3-14.11) also requires the Regional Superintendent to examine at least once
each year all books, accounts, and vouchers of every school treasurer in his
educational service region, and if he finds any irregularities in them, to
report them at once, as directed by the School Code.
The Regional Office
did not examine at least once each year all books, accounts, and vouchers of
every school treasurer in the educational service region. Regional Office officials noted they
believe the mandate is outdated and that they are satisfying the intent of
the statute by other reviews they undertake.
This mandate has existed in its current form since at least 1953.
(Finding 05-1, pages 12a-12b)
The Regional Office of Education #30 accepted the
recommendation to submit the required inspection report prior to July
30. The Regional Office also stated
it would request that the General Assembly delete the requirements of 105
ILCS 5/14.11 and other obsolete sections from the statutes.
INADEQUATE INTERNAL CONTROLS OVER DISBURSEMENT PROCESS
The Regional Superintendent of Schools is responsible for
establishing and maintaining an internal control system to prevent errors and
fraud.
In the testing of 125 disbursements, the following was
noted:
·
Invoices were not canceled after payment in 4 instances.
·
Mathematical errors were noted on the supporting documentation in 3
instances.
·
An authorization form was not signed by a program director or
Superintendent in 1 instance.
·
An account allocation on the check and purchase order did not match the
general ledger detail in 1 instance.
·
A contract labor agreement did not specify the amount of fee to be paid
for the service rendered in 1 instance.
·
An over-limit fee of $20 was paid on a credit card disbursement.
(Finding 05-2, pages 12c-12d)
The Regional Office accepted the auditor’s recommendation
to strengthen its internal controls over the disbursement process.
AUDITORS’ OPINION
Our
auditors state the Regional Office of Education #30’s financial statements as
of June 30, 2005 are fairly presented in all material respects.
_____________________________________
WILLIAM
G. HOLLAND, Auditor General
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SPECIAL ASSISTANT AUDITORS
Our special assistant
auditors were Kemper CPA Group, LLP.
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