Summary

This operational audit focused on the Apostille and Certificate of Notarial Authority Program (Program) (including Certificates of Incumbency^[1]) administered by the Department of State during the period July 2002 through February 2004 and selected Department actions taken through August 10, 2004.  During the audit period, $1,494,867 in revenues was recorded for this Program that operates out of two offices, one in Tallahassee and the other in Miami.

Our audit disclosed that some controls over the Program need to be established and others need strengthening.  Specifically:

• The interagency Memorandum of Agreement between the Department and the Executive Office of the Governor, Office of Tourism, Trade, and Economic Development, did not specifically address the Program and, consequently, was silent as to key issues related to the Program.
• The Department has not established policies and procedures to ensure that fees collected are properly safeguarded, accounted for, and timely deposited.  In addition, revenue collection duties in the Miami Office are not properly separated.
• Department policies and procedures need to be established to prevent the possible misuse and unwarranted waste of blank forms used in the printing of Program certifications.  Internal control deficiencies include the lack of requirements for prenumbered forms, reconciliations of certificates issued to revenues collected, accounting for voided and reprinted documents, and conducting physical inventories.
• The Department has not established procedures covering significant aspects of processing returned checks including requirements for waiving amounts owed and setting a time frame in which the Department will attempt to collect past due amounts before submitting returned checks to the Department of Financial Services for collection.  To ensure an adequate correlation of fees collected to certifications issued, the Apostille/Certification System should be updated promptly upon receiving notification of returned checks.
• Department procedures over access to the Apostille/Certification System should be established to include only authorized access and the timely deletion of access when no longer required to perform employment-related duties.  Personal passwords should only be known and used by the individual having that identity.
• The Department has not established procedures to ensure that information is recorded accurately and completely in the Apostille/Certification System through appropriate data verification.  In addition, request documents should be maintained and used, ensuring compliance with records retention guidelines and the validity of the process.
• The Department’s Miami Office made referrals to one particular notary, thereby giving the appearance that the State has a preference for obtaining business from that notary.

[1]Represents approximately 4 percent of Program revenues.

The Secretary's response, in its entirety, may be viewed on the Auditor General Web site.