Multiple Agencies
An Audit Report on Performance Measures at 26 State Agencies
Report Number 97-077
August 1997
Overall Conclusion
The cumulative results of 11 phases of performance measure certification audits, conducted over 4 years, show the reliability percentage for all state entities is 62 percent. State agencies alone have a 60 percent reliability rate. Institutions of higher education have a reliability rate of 68 percent. As a result, over 30 percent of key performance information cannot be relied upon by decision makers.
Although performance measure controls have gradually improved, control weaknesses continue to prevent a higher reliability rate. Prevention or detection of errors would be greater if management placed more emphasis on review procedures.
During this audit, six agencies requested assistance in review of their overall control procedures, performance measure definitions, and documentation. They were:
Department of Protective and Regulatory Services (not in Phase 11 audit)
Historical Commission (not in Phase 11 audit)
Soil and Water Conservation Board (not in Phase 11 audit)
Public Utility Commission (not in Phase 11 audit)
Board of Vocational Nurse Examiners (included in Phase 11 audit)
Board of Private Investigators and Private Security Agencies (included in Phase 11 audit)
Key Facts and Findings
Sixty-nine percent of the 165 performance measures reviewed during Phase 11 were determined to be reliable. Nineteen percent of the measures were inaccurate. Factors prevented us from determining whether the remaining 12 percent were accurate or inaccurate.
The overall results represent a 16 percent decrease in reliability from the most recent performance measure audit. The lack of reviews over the calculations and reporting of performance measure data was the primary reason for the decrease.
Control weaknesses prevent the detection of collection and reporting errors. Thus, reported performance could not be certified. The errors included calculations not being performed according to performance measure definition and mathematical inaccuracies.
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