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| TR-02-02: Audit Recommendations Tracking Report As of December 31, 2002 (Issued 05/30/03) Summary The Office of the Public Auditor (OPA) maintains an audit recommendations tracking system to monitor implementation and resolution of audit recommendations. On a semi-annual basis, OPA issues its Report on CNMI Agencies’ Implementation of Audit Recommendations (Audit Recommendations Tracking Report) which presents the audited agencies’ compliance with OPA’s recommendations. Open and resolved audit recommendations are included in OPA’s tracking system report. In addition, we have also included recommendations which were closed during the past six months. An open recommendation is one where no action or plan of action has been made, or no time frame for the plan of action has been provided by the client (department or agency). A resolved recommendation is one in which OPA is satisfied that the client cannot take immediate action, but has established a reasonable plan and time frame for action. Also, we have considered open or resolved recommendations as delinquent if the recommendation has been outstanding for at least 180 days and we have not been informed by the concerned agency or department of any action being taken to close the recommendations. For the year 2002, OPA issued 4 audit reports to the Commonwealth Utilities Corporation, Tinian Casino Gaming Control Commission, Commonwealth Development Authority, and the Department of Labor and Immigration which set forth a total of 13 recommendations added into the tracking system. The 13 recommendations were in addition to the 112 recommendations outstanding at the beginning of the year, making a total of 125 recommendations tracked for the year. Of the 125 audit recommendations, 44 were closed and 81 remained either open or resolved. Of the 81 open or resolved recommendations, 56 were considered delinquent. The table below presents the status of OPA’s audit recommendations for the year 2002.
An analysis of the 44 closed recommendations for the year 2002 showed that most were closed because agencies acted by implementing policies and procedures, and by issuing memoranda and directives to reemphasize the need to comply with existing laws and regulations. The chart below shows a breakdown of actions taken by the agencies to close the 44 recommendations.
Recommendations issued by private CPA firms are also included in OPA’s audit recommendations tracking report. OPA is not responsible for tracking the implementation of these recommendations, however, they are included in the audit tracking report for information purposes. Based on the classification followed by private CPA firms, a recommendation is described as either resolved or unresolved. OPA has included in the tracking report a total of 353 recommendations in 25 audit reports issued by private CPA firms. Of the 353 recommendations, 29 were considered resolved leaving a balance of 324 recommendations still outstanding. For the year 2002, OPA issued eight procurement reports, i.e., decisions on appeals and requests for reconsideration, as well as eight compilation reports. In accordance with statutory restrictions in the Auditing and Ethics Acts, the names of individuals and entities in the audits are not disclosed in this report.
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