| Public Release Date: March 18, 1999 | No. 99-21 |
The mission of the Department of Economic Security is to "help Minnesotans help themselves achieve economic security." The department accomplishes this mission by providing an integrated employment and training system for all Minnesotans. Some of the programs administered by the department include: Reemployment Insurance, Rehabilitation Services, Social Security Disability Insurance, Senior Community Services Employment Program, Employment Services Programs, and the Job Training Partnership Act. Mr. Earl Wilson was appointed commissioner of the Department of Economic Security in February 1999, replacing Ms. R. Jane Brown, who served as the commissioner during the period under audit.
Our audit scope was limited to those activities material to the State of Minnesota's general purpose financial statements for the year ended June 30, 1998. Our primary audit objective was to render an opinion on the State of Minnesota's financial statements. Our scope within the Department of Economic Security included cash, taxes, investment income, and grants for the Reemployment Insurance Fund.
We qualified our report, dated December 1, 1998, on the State of Minnesota's general purpose financial statements because insufficient audit evidence exists to support the State of Minnesota's disclosures with respect to the year 2000. Auditing the state's year 2000 compliance efforts was not an objective of this audit. As a result, we do not provide assurance that the Department of Economic Security is or will be year 2000 ready, that its year 2000 remediation efforts will be successful in whole or in part, or that parties with which the Department of Economic Security does business will be year 2000 ready.
For the areas audited, the Department of Economic Security's financial activities were fairly presented in the State of Minnesota's general purpose financial statements for the year ended June 30, 1998. For the federal programs tested, the department complied, in all material respects, with the compliance requirements described in the U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circular A-133 Compliance Supplement that are applicable to each of its major federal programs for the year ended June 30, 1998. However, the department did not obtain certifications regarding suspended and debarred parties for some subrecipients. In addition, the department has inadequate security access controls over data and computer resources on the department's mainframe computer.
The department agreed with the audit report's findings and recommendations. They will continue their efforts to resolve the issues raised.
