Summary

This audit of the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services focused primarily on budgetary controls; motor vehicle assignment and use; revenues and cash receipts; payroll, personnel, and leave records; procurement of goods and services; contractual services; travel expenditures; and State Farmers' Markets for the period March 1, 1996, through February 28, 1997. We conducted our audit in accordance with generally accepted auditing standards and applicable standards contained in Government Auditing Standards issued by the Comptroller General of the United States.

Matters coming to our attention relating to noncompliance with various guidelines and those relating to significant deficiencies in the design or operation of the internal control for those operations audited are as follows:

Revenues and Cash Receipts

Citrus Inspection Fees. The Division of Fruit and Vegetables had not established procedures to reconcile, and did not reconcile, citrus inspection certificate and/or manifest forms issued to canneries and packing houses to the completed inspection certificates and/or manifests returned to the Division. Since the certificates and/or manifests returned are the source documents used to assess citrus inspection fees, failure to reconcile the documents returned to those issued could result in a failure to assess and collect all revenues for inspections performed by Department inspectors. (See paragraphs 21 through 26.)

State Farmers' Markets Supervisory Audits. The Department had not documented that required supervisory audits of the State Farmers' Markets had been properly performed. Such audits provide assurance that the State Farmers' Markets are achieving management's operating objectives and are being administered in accordance with applicable laws and established management directives. (See paragraphs 27 through 33.)

Procurement of Goods and Services

The Department's voucher processing procedures did not always ensure the accurate recording of transaction dates in the State Automated Management Accounting Subsystem. Properly recorded transaction dates are important to the effective monitoring of Department compliance with the voucher processing time limits of Section 215.422, Florida Statutes. (See paragraphs 34 through 36.)

Other Matters

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) - Office of the Inspector General (OIG) released an internal audit of the Federal-State Inspection Service of the State of Florida on March 4, 1997. In that audit the USDA - OIG cited the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (Department) for the inappropriate use of $1,458,636 in Federal-State Inspection fees for citrus canker identification and eradication activities and for citrus tree survey activities in the 1994-95 and 1995-96 fiscal years. The Department contends that the questioned expenditures are, for the most part, related to the regulation and maintenance of the citrus industry in Florida and were, therefore, appropriate. We also noted that the 1997 Legislature has subsequently made appropriations for similar expenditures. An updated Cooperative Agreement between the Department and the USDA-AMS may be needed to reflect whether such State-determined uses of moneys resulting from the State's participation in the inspection process are appropriate. (See paragraph 37.)

The Commissioner of Agriculture's written response to the audit findings and recommendations included in audit report No. 13080 is presented as Exhibit C.