| Public Release Date: October 8, 1998 | No. 98-57 |
The Minnesota State Arts Board is governed by 11 private citizens, appointed by the Governor and approved by the Senate to serve four-year terms. The board provides direct funding and services to individual artists, schools, arts organizations, colleges and universities, and other groups that sponsor arts activities in Minnesota. The board also serves as the fiscal agent for the 11 regional arts councils in Minnesota. In addition, the board works in cooperation with the Department of Administration to administer the Minnesota Percent for Art in Public Places Program. Under this program, the board commissions artists to create new work or purchases existing artwork for installation in public buildings. Mr. Robert C. Booker serves as executive director of the board.
Our audit scope included: grants, artwork purchases for the Minnesota Percent for Art in Public Places Program, payroll, and other administrative expenditures. We concluded that the Minnesota State Arts Board designed and implemented internal controls to provide reasonable assurance that grants, artwork purchases, payroll and other administrative expenditures were properly authorized and accurately recorded in the accounting records. For the items tested, the board complied with applicable legal provisions, except for the following issues. The board deposited and used some refunds and other receipts inappropriately. In addition, we found that the board circumvented the state purchasing policy for some purchases.
We also reviewed material compliance requirements related to the Promotion of the Arts Partnership Agreement (CFDA #45.025) under the Single Audit Act. The board designed and implemented internal controls to provide reasonable assurance that federal expenditures were processed in compliance with applicable federal requirements. However, we noted the following reportable conditions involving internal control over compliance related to the federal program. The board incorrectly charged an artist's award to its federal account. In addition, the board did not manage its federal money in compliance with applicable federal requirements. Finally, the board carried forward federal grant funds to subsequent fiscal years without proper authority.
The Minnesota State Arts Board agreed with our findings and has begun to work towards implementing the recommendations.
