Auditor General mini logo    Summary

Report Number:

2006-026

Report Title:

Parole Commission - Follow-up on Operational Audit Report No. 2004-035 and Other Administrative Matters

Report Period:

07/01/2003-02/28/ 2005 and selected Commission actions through 06/06/2005

Release Date:

09/14/2005

This operational audit of the Parole Commission (Commission) for the period July 1, 2003, through February 28, 2005, and selected Commission actions taken through June 3, 2005, included a follow-up on prior audit findings and a determination of the extent to which the Commission has implemented effective controls over payroll, personnel, and leave; Purchasing Card expenditures; travel expenditures; cellular telephone usage; and tangible personal property.  Our audit also included a review of the steps taken by the Commission to complete the transfer of administrative functions to the Department of Corrections (DOC).[1]

Our prior audit of the Commission (report No. 2004‑035, dated August 2003) disclosed numerous instances in which the Commission had not established the controls necessary to ensure the safeguarding of State resources or compliance with applicable legal requirements and had not established adequate record systems to demonstrate compliance with such requirements.  In addition, our audit disclosed circumvention of established controls by the former Commission Chair and some former Commission employees.[2]

This audit disclosed that the current Commission Chair has implemented corrective actions and taken steps to establish appropriate management controls.  However, we noted the following:

Finding No. 1:   The Commission had not finalized a written plan with DOC identifying the specific tasks to be performed by both agencies.  The Commission continues to perform some MIS [management information system] functions.[3]

Finding No. 2:   The Commission did not always ensure that its tangible personal property was properly accounted for and managed.

Finding No. 3:   The Commission did not always ensure that sufficient access controls were in place to prevent unauthorized access or modification to the Commission’s Florida Accounting Information Resource Subsystem (FLAIR) records.

[1] Effective July 1, 2001, and pursuant to Chapter 2001-124, Laws of Florida, the Legislature enacted the Parole Commission Reform Act of 2001 which transferred some Commission functions to the Department of Corrections.

[2] See “Other Matters” included at the end of this report for additional information.

[3] Chapter 2001-367, Laws of Florida, required the Commission “to prepare plans to effectuate the full transfer of accounting, supply, mail room, MIS network administration, and MIS help desk activities by July 1, 2002."

The Parole Commission's Chair and the Department of Corrections Director of Financial Management's responses are included in their entirety at the end of this report.