Public Release Date: September 1, 1995 | No. 95-37 |
The Office of the State Auditor (OSA) was established by Article V of the state Constitution and operates under Minnesota Statute Chapter 6. The State Auditor is elected for a four-year term. Judith Dutcher, the current State Auditor, began her term on January 2, 1995. Mark Dayton, the former State Auditor, served for one term, which began on January 7, 1991. The State Auditor serves on the state's Executive Council, State Board of Investment, Land Exchange Board, State Housing Finance Agency Board, Board of Government Innovation and Cooperation, the Public Employees Retirement Association Board, and the Rural Finance Authority.
The OSA receives support for its operations in the form of state appropriations. Minn. Stat. Section 6.58 requires the OSA to bill audit clients for the costs of audits and examinations at a rate sufficient to cover the cost of its audits. The audit practice receipts collected from clients are deposited as nondedicated receipts in the General Fund.
Our audit scope included a review of the Office of the State Auditor appropriation, audit practice revenue, personnel services, and administrative expenditures for the period from January 1, 1993, through December 31, 1994.
We audited the OSA's compliance with its legal appropriation authority. The OSA spent its state appropriation within its appropriation authority, except that the OSA inappropriately provided support services, office space, and parking to the Board of Government Innovation and Cooperation. The OSA also did not obtain sufficient General Fund reimbursement for costs related to audits of police and fire relief associations.
We also audited the OSA's audit practice revenue obtained through reimbursable audit costs from OSA clients. We concluded that the OSA properly billed for audit costs.
Finally, we reviewed OSA expenditures. We audited the OSA's personnel services during the audit period for compliance with applicable legal requirements and to verify transactions were properly processed and recorded. No personnel service problems came to our attention during the audit.
The administrative expenditures we reviewed were: travel, professional technical services, purchased services, and capital expenditures. We verified the reliability of procedures and accuracy of transactions. No expenditure problems came to our attention during the audit.