| Public Release Date: January 15, 1998 | No. 98-1 |
The Teachers Retirement Association (TRA) is the administrator of a multi-employer, cost sharing Teachers Retirement Fund. Its function is to provide a secure and dependable source of retirement income for its members or beneficiaries as a result of retirement, disability, or death. TRA's net assets as of June 30, 1997, were approximately $12.9 billion.
The primary objective of our audit was to render an opinion on the Teachers Retirement Association's financial statements. These statements are included in both TRA's and the state of Minnesota's Comprehensive Annual Financial Reports for fiscal year 1997. This objective included determining whether TRA's financial statements present fairly its financial position and results of operations in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles.
As part of our work, we are required to gain an understanding of the internal control structure and ascertain whether TRA complied with laws and regulations that may have a material effect on its financial statements. During our audit, we gained an understanding of the contributions, annuities and refunds control cycles, and the financial statement preparation cycle.
The TRA's Comprehensive Annual Financial Report for the year ended June 30, 1997, includes our unqualified audit opinion dated December 8, 1997. The TRA financial statements are also included in the state of Minnesota's Comprehensive Annual Financial Report for the year ended June 30, 1997. TRA designed and implemented management controls for material financial activities, and, for the items tested, TRA complied with material legal provisions. However, we found that TRA did not adequately safeguard certain benefit checks.
TRA agreed with our finding and has taken action to resolve the issue.
