| Public Release Date: September 30, 1998 | No. 98-54E |
The Board of Nursing operates under Minn. Stat. Sections 148.171 - 148.299 and Chapter 214. Board members are appointed by the Governor. The Nursing Board has sixteen members. Ms. Joyce Schowalter is the executive director of the board. The board's operations are financed by a special revenue fund appropriation. The board also collects fees for professional licensure, which are deposited to the State Treasury. For fiscal years 1996 and 1997, the board collected approximately $2.4 million and $2.6 million, respectively, in revenue from fees.
Our audit scope covered the period from July 1, 1995 through June 30, 1997. We audited license revenue, personnel services, rent and other administrative expenditures.
The Board of Nursing designed an appropriate system of control to provide reasonable assurance over its financial management practices during the audit period. The board properly recorded financial activity and adequately safeguarded its assets.
We found that the board had designed controls to provide reasonable assurance that the approved amount of license fees were collected and deposited. The board designed controls to provide reasonable assurance that it accurately paid and recorded payroll expenditures, except that the payroll clerk verified the accuracy of the payroll input to output reports, including the clerk's own payroll records. Payroll expenditures were also in compliance with rules and regulations, for the items tested. We found that expenditures for rent and other administrative expenses were properly authorized, accurately recorded, and consistent with the board's purpose. We found, however, that the board prepaid a vendor for services which had not been provided.
The Board of Nursing agreed with the findings and recommendations in the audit report. In its response, the board indicated it has improved controls over payroll processing. The board acknowledged the erroneous prepayment of contract services and indicated it will seek advice in the future to avoid similar errors.
