| Financial Audit Division Report 18-08 | Released June 5, 2018 |
The Minnesota Board of Water and Soil Resources is the state agency responsible for the improvement and protection of the state’s water and soil resources. The board works in partnership with local organizations and private landowners to accomplish its conservation mission.
The Office of the Legislative Auditor conducted this selected scope audit to determine whether the board had adequate internal controls and complied with significant finance-related legal requirements. The audit scope included grants, easements, and payroll and other administrative expenditures. The period under examination went from July 2014 through February 2017.
Internal controls at the Board of Water and Soil Resources were generally not adequate, and the board lacked the necessary cost-accounting rigor to ensure compliance with significant finance-related legal requirements. Though most grant and easement transactions that we tested complied with legal requirements, payroll and other administrative costs lacked appropriate controls and often did not follow established state policies and requirements in law. Insufficient documentation also made it difficult to audit many key cost-allocation decisions.
Finding 1. The Board of Water and Soil Resources did not establish appropriate fiscal oversight controls for its administrative expenditures. This was a prior audit finding.
Finding 2. The Board of Water and Soil Resources did not properly resolve conflicts of interest.
Finding 3. The Board of Water and Soil Resources did not have appropriate controls to ensure compliance with funding-use legal restrictions. This was a prior audit finding.
Finding 4. The Board of Water and Soil Resources did not follow state accounting policies for its administrative expenditures. This was a prior audit finding.
