| Public Release Date: September 10, 1999 | No. 99-49 |
The Office of the Attorney General was established by Article V of the constitution of the State of Minnesota. During the audit period, Hubert H. Humphrey III was the Attorney General. Mike Hatch is the current Attorney General. The Attorney General's main duties include providing legal advice, representing state agencies and their officials, and offering direct assistance to citizens of Minnesota. The Attorney General also represents Minnesota in civil and criminal cases and is a member of the Executive Council, the Pardons Board, the Land Exchange Board, and the State Board of Investment.
The objectives of our audit were to gain an understanding of the internal control structure over the accounting and reporting of financial activities of the agency and to determine if the Office of the Attorney General complied with material finance-related legal provisions. The areas covered by our audit were partner agency agreements, fines and restitutions, tobacco settlement receipts, payroll, rent, claims, professional/technical services, and supply and equipment purchases for the period January 1, 1997, through December 31, 1998.
The Attorney General's Office (AGO) properly collected, deposited, and recorded revenues for attorney general services, fines, and restitutions on the state's accounting system. The AGO also adequately supported and accurately recorded its payroll and other expenditures in the state's accounting records. In addition, for the items tested, the AGO complied with material finance-related legal provisions and bargaining unit agreements. However, the AGO did not bill for the full cost of services for non-general funded activities.
The Attorney General responded that his office will continue to work with the Department of Finance to determine appropriate funding for the AGO, including the issue of billing for the full cost of services for non-general funded activities.
