2010 Biennial Report

LEGISLATIVE JOINT AUDITING COMMITTEE ARKANSAS DIVISION OF LEGISLATIVE AUDIT 2009-2010 BIENNIAL REPORT JANUARY 2011 TABLE OF CONTENTS Legislative Joint Auditing Committee ......................................... 1 Division of Legislative Audit ......................................................... 2 State Agencies ................................................................................. 4 Counties and Municipalities ......................................................... 5 Educational Institutions ................................................................ 6 Performance Evaluation ............................................................... 7 Fraud Investigation ....................................................................... 8 Information Systems ...................................................................... 9 Legal Counsel ............................................................................... 10 Personnel ...................................................................................... 11 Quality Assurance ........................................................................ 12 Organization Structure ............................................................... 13 Official Stations / Contact Information ..................................... 14 Division Regional Staff ................................................................ 15 Assigned Engagements - State Agencies ................... Appendix A Assigned Engagements - Counties/Municipalities. ... Appendix B Assigned Engagements - Educational Institutions .. Appendix C Reports Issued - Performance Evaluation ............... Appendix D Reports Issued - Fraud Investigation ........................ Appendix E LEGISLATIVE JOINT AUDITING COMMITTEE Senator Bill Pritchard Representative Tim Summers Senate Co-Chair House of Representatives Co-Chair Arkansas Senate 2007-Present Arkansas House of Representatives Arkansas House of Representatives 2009-Present 2001-2007 The Arkansas General Assembly created the Legislative Joint Auditing Committee in 1953 as a joint interim committee to provide guidance and accountability standards to state government. Through the Division of Legislative Audit, the Committee is responsible for the independent auditing of state entities and political subdivisions of the state to furnish the Arkansas General Assembly with information vital to the discharge of its constitutional duties. The Committee is comprised of 44 members as follows: 16 Members selected by the Senate 20 Members selected by the House of Representatives President Tempore of the Senate, ex-officio Speaker of the House of Representatives, ex-officio Immediate past Co-Chairs of the Committee, ex-officio Co-Chairs and Co-Vice Chairs of the Legislative Council, ex-officio For the purpose of reviewing audit reports, the Committee Co-Chairs assign members to three standing committees: the Committee for State Agencies, the Committee for Educa- tional Institutions, and the Committee for Counties and Municipalities. Financial, performance, and compliance audits; assessments; and special and investigative reports are presented to the Legislative Joint Auditing Committee on the second Friday and preceding Thursday of each month. By law, reports disclosing unaccounted for funds or property or unauthorized disbursements are referred to the appropriate prosecuting attorney. 1 DIVISION OF LEGISLATIVE AUDIT MISSION The Division of Legislative Audit’s mission is to serve the General Assembly, the Legislative Joint Auditing Committee, and the citizens of the State of Arkansas by promoting sound financial manage- ment and accountability of public resources that are entrusted to the various governmental entities. The Division continually strives to promote an at- mosphere of honesty and integrity among its staff, Roger A. Norman, JD, CPA, CFE, CFF various governmental entities, and the people we Legislative Auditor are privileged to serve. LEGISLATIVE AUDITOR As Legislative Auditor, Roger Norman is responsible for the auditing of the constitutional offices and the executive and judicial branches of state government, public institutions of higher education, school districts, educational cooperatives, municipalities, counties, and prosecuting attorneys. Mr. Norman oversees an authorized professional and support staff of 290 that is responsible for performing over 1,000 engagements each year and presenting the results to the Legislative Joint Auditing Committee. Mr. Norman has over 33 years of experience with the Division of Legislative Audit. He became Legislative Auditor in January 2007 after serving the Division as Legal Counsel for 23 years and as a staff auditor for 7 years. Prior to joining the Division, Mr. Norman was employed with a public accounting firm. Mr. Norman is a CPA, licensed attorney, and certified fraud examiner, and is certified in financial forensics by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA). In his role as Legislative Auditor, Mr. Norman represents the Division in several professional organizations, including the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), National Association of State Auditors, and Southwest Intergovernmental Audit Forum. He served on the Executive Committee of NCSL and currently serves as Vice-Chair of the NCSL Legal Services Staff Section. Mr. Norman is a member of the AICPA, Arkansas Society of Certified Public Accountants, American Bar Association, Arkansas Bar Association, Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, and is a charter member and former president of the Arkansas Chapter of Certified Fraud Examiners. Mr. Norman graduated from Ouachita Baptist University The Division of Legislative and obtained his Juris Doctorate degree from the University Audit is impartial and free of Arkansas at Little Rock School of Law. from partisan politics. 2 PROFESSIONAL REQUIREMENTS Because the auditing profession is highly regulated, Division auditors are required to adhere to auditing and accounting standards from a number of regulatory and professional entities. The standards, rules, regulations, and pronouncements that the Division must be cognizant of and comply with include, but are not limited to: Governmental Accounting and Financial Reporting Standards issued by the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB); Financial Accounting and Reporting Standards issued by the Financial Ac- counting Standards Board (FASB); Statements on Auditing Standards issued by the American Institute of Certi- fied Public Accountants (AICPA); Government Auditing Standards issued by the Comptroller General of the United States, Government Accountability Office (GAO); and Code of Professional Conduct issued by the AICPA. These standards are extensive, complex, and require that only auditors with adequate education and training conduct audits of governmental entities. Through the use of a comprehensive interview process, the Division seeks to employ individuals who have demonstrated high levels of intelligence, integrity, aptitude, and motivation. All applicants for professional audit positions are required to have college degrees with sufficient accounting and total college credit hours equivalent to a masters degree (150 hours) to qualify them to sit for the Uniform Certified Public Accountant (CPA) examination. Additionally, all professional staff members are required to complete 40 hours of continuing professional education each year. The Division’s authorized professional staff of 273 have achieved multiple professional des- ignations including: 144 Certified Public Accountants (CPA) 40 Certified Fraud Examiners (CFE) 12 Certified in Financial Forensics (CFF) 7 Certified Information Systems Auditors (CISA) 2 Attorneys (JD) QUALITY ASSURANCE Government Auditing Standards require organizations performing government audits to have a system of quality assurance in place. In order to assure compliance with prescribed Standards, the Division undergoes rigorous reviews: An external quality control review (peer review) is conducted every three years by a private, certified public accounting firm. In an internal quality assurance process performed by experienced auditors reporting directly to the Legislative Auditor, engagements are randomly selected for review of reports and supporting documentation. A certified public accounting firm annually performs a financial audit to en- sure stewardship of public funds that are entrusted to the Division. 3 STATE AGENCIES DUTIES Perform financial audits, along with state and federal compliance audits of the State of Arkansas; Charles Fiser, CPA Conduct audits and internal control assessments of the Deputy Legislative Auditor State’s constitutional and judicial offices, various [email protected] executive departments, regulatory boards, and commissions; and Serve the General Assembly as a resource for technical accounting and general State government operational information. BIOGRAPHY Charles Fiser is Deputy Legislative Auditor for the State Agencies Section and has 27 years of governmental audit experience. He graduated from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock with a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting. He is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Arkansas Society of Public Accountants. He is also active in the Southwest Intergovernmental Audit Forum. ENGAGEMENTS The State Agencies Section is committed to the following engagements: The audit of the State’s Comprehensive

Load more