Summary of Report 97-013

November 18,1996

Report Number 97-013

Overall Conclusion
During the management control audits of eight small agencies, opportunities were identified for improvement in performance management and human and financial resource management. In general, six of the small agencies:

• Children's Trust Fund of Texas Council
  
• Food and Fibers Commission
  
• Board of Law Examiners
  
• Office of Public Insurance Counsel
  
• Southwest Collegiate Institute for the Deaf
  
• Office of State-Federal Relations

had established reasonable controls to ensure that missions were accomplished, goals and objectives were achieved, and resources were safeguarded. However, control weaknesses at two agencies (Commission on the Arts and Soil and Water Conservation Board) increase the risk that desired results may not be achieved.

In addition, we found that 46 percent of the performance measures examined were reliable and 15 percent were inaccurate. We were unable to determine the accuracy of the remaining 39 percent of the measures. In the previous small agency management control audits (1995 Small Agency Management Control Audit, SAO Report No. 96-034, December 1995), 38 percent of the performance measures were reliable, 45 percent were inaccurate, and the accuracy of the remaining 17 percent could not be determined.

Follow-up audit results at 11 agencies reviewed in previous small agency management control audits indicate that 52 percent of our previous recommendations have been implemented, 38 percent have been partially implemented, and 10 percent have not been implemented. With regard to recommendations not implemented, agencies' responses indicate that they plan to address these in the near future.

Key Facts and Findings

• Two agencies audited had control weaknesses which increase the risk that intended benefits may not be delivered:
  
  • Commission on the Arts (weaknesses in controls over grant monitoring)
    
  • Soil and Water Conservation Board (weaknesses in controls over monitoring of the Agricultural and Silvicultural Nonpoint Source Pollution Abatement Program)

• At six agencies, opportunities for improvement were noted in the following areas of human and financial resource management:
  
  • Performance appraisals, documentation of personnel actions and Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) exemptions, and classification of interns
    
  • Lack of budgeting, segregation of duties over accounting and payroll, and policies and procedures for accounting.

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