The Constitution of the State of Florida provides for
the Legislature to appoint an auditor who shall audit the public records and
perform related duties as prescribed by law or concurrent resolution. Section
11.42, Florida Statutes, designates the constitutional auditor as the Auditor
General and Sections 11.42 through 11.47, Florida Statutes, set forth his general
authority and duties. The Florida Statutes also provide that the Auditor General
shall perform his duties independently. The Legislature zealously protects the
integrity and independence of the Auditor General.
STATE GOVERNMENT AUDITS DIVISION
EDUCATIONAL ENTITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT AUDITS DIVISION
These Divisions are responsible for performing the
financial, compliance, performance, and operational audits and other engagements
mandated by Florida Statutes. The State Government Audits Division is responsible
for the audits of the various State agencies, including the Statewide financial
and Federal awards audits. The Educational Entities and Local Government Audits Division’s responsibilities include audits of the Florida Department
of Education, district school boards, State universities and
colleges, and local governmental units.
Audits are made to determine whether financial resources
are properly accounted for; whether public officials comply with applicable laws, rules,
regulations, and other legal requirements; whether proper and effective internal
controls are in place over entity operations; and whether assets are properly
safeguarded. Audits are selected based on statutory requirements
and risk assessments performed on the various agencies.
To ensure that audits performed by these Divisions
meet all professional requirements, Office policy requires auditors
assigned to these Divisions meet the educational requirements established by the Florida
State Board of Accountancy for licensure as a certified public accountant in Florida.
Policy requirements that all management staff within the Divisions be certified
public accountants further ensures audit quality. Salaries are competitive
with comparable positions in government and public accounting.
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AUDITS
AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AUDIT SUPPORT DIVISION
The Auditor General has an active information technology
audit and data processing Division that is responsible for auditing IT systems
and data centers, providing audit assistance and support to other Auditor
General Divisions, and providing data processing support. Responsibilities
include audits and assistance for the audits of the various State agencies
(including the Statewide financial and Federal awards audits), district
school boards, State universities and colleges, and local governmental
units.
Staff are trained in the technical areas of information
systems, such as programming and systems design and in information technology
audit procedures and techniques. Staff utilize state-of-the-art computer
hardware and software including, database, data communications, and multiple
high-level programming languages. In addition to host computer capabilities,
the Division uses a large number of personal computers with word processing,
graphics, and spreadsheet applications.
This Division employs individuals with degrees in computer
sciences, accounting, finance, management, management information systems,
statistics, or information studies (with an emphasis in information technology).
