The Office of the State Comptroller says it will continue to retrain and monitor state agencies that reported inaccurate account balances, liabilities and other financial information last fiscal year.
State auditors this week said they found that a number of agencies submitted inaccurate financial adjustment forms to Comptroller Kevin Lembo’s office, which uses the information to calculate the state’s financial position on a general accepted accounting principles (GAAP) basis.
Auditors had recommended more training on the fiscal forms in a previous audit. They said the matter had improved, but that problems still existed.
Auditors said incorrect submissions forced the comptroller to delay the state’s fiscal 2014 annual Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, which was supposed to be out by December.
The CAFR is a full accounting of the state’s revenue, assets, liabilities, expenses, gains and losses over the previous year.
Many of the inaccuracies auditors identified were related to the value of contractual obligations. Some of the largest inaccuracies included:
- The Department of Administrative Services, which submitted an adjustment form three times without correcting all errors, failed to completely identify and report nearly $12.3 million in obligations for the statewide contracts it administers.
- The Department of Energy and Environmental Protection understated contractual obligations by nearly $6.1 million.
- The Department of Economic and Community Development understated its contractual obligations by more than $8.6 million.
Lembo’s office said it will provide additional guidance on reporting for the current fiscal year’s closing package, and will pursue a long-term fix that involves automatic collection of contract obligations through the state’s computer system.
