Legislative Joint Auditing: Orientation – June 11, 2009
Posted on June 11th, 2009
Date & Time: Wednesday, June 11, 2009 at 10:00 AM
Location: Room 171, State Capitol Little Rock, Arkansas
Agenda: http://tr.im/o9V4
Attachments: none
10:06 am – Meeting fairly informal today. The orientation session means there are no legislative issues on the table. Presentation being made by Roger Norman, the Legislative Auditor.
10:10 am – Wow, Mr Norman is going through his presentation faster than I can even follow it, not to mention even begin to blog it. I will try to get you his slides and post them here.
10:11 am – The Legislative Joint Auditing Committee provides for the auditiong of the state and political subdivisions to furnish the General Assembly with information vital to the discharge of it’s constitutional duties.
10:14 am – The Committee co-chairs assign members to three standing committes for the purpose of reviewing audit reports: the Committee on State Agencies, the Committee for Education Institutions, and the Committee for Counties and Municipalities. The full Committee meets on the Second Friday of each month with the standing committees meeting on the preceding Thursday.
10:17 am – The Legislative Joint Auditing Committee is comprised of 44 members of the legislature. 16 members of the House, 20 members of the Senate, and the remaining from House and Senate leadership positions.
10:19 am – Mr. Norman’s pace has become a lot better. He did a really quick 50,000 foot overview, then circled back to the points. That is actally a good method of presentation. Hopefully I will be able to get you the slide presentation anyway.
10:23 am – Distinct from the Committee itself is the Division of Legislative Audit. Here is a link to their website: http://www.arklegaudit.gov/
10:27 am – The mission of the Division of Legislative Audit is to serve the General Assembly, the Legislative Joint Auditing Committee, and the citizens of the State of Arkansas by promoting sound financial management and accountablity of public resources entrusted to the various governmental entities.
10:30 am – The Division of Legislative Audit is annually responsible for over 1000 engagements providing audits, agreed-upon procedures, and special reports to assist the Legislature in oversight of state and local government.
10:32 am – The Legislative Auditor serves as the Director of the Division of Legislative Audit. The Legislative Auditor is selected by the Legislative Joint Auditiong Committee (this committee) and confirmed by both chambers of the General Assembly.
10:34 am – The Division of Legislative Audit is part of the legislative branch but conducts audits of constitutional offices, executive and judicial branches of state government, counties, municipalities, prosecuting attorneys, public school districts, educational cooperatives, and institutions of higher education. This constitutional separation provides organizational independence recognizeed under Government Audition Standards published by the Comptroller General of the United States.
10:38 am – The General Assembly has expressed its intent and desire for the Legislative Auditor and the staff of the Division of Legislative Audit to be free from partisan politics. By statute, is is against public policy for any member of the General Assembly to recommend or suggest the appointment of any person to a position on the staff of the Legislative Auditor.
10:41 am – The auditors have to adhere to and comply with standards that include GASB, FASB, AICPA, and GAO.
10:43 am – There are 263 professional staffers in the Division of Legislative Audit. Some have multiple professonal designations: 149 CPAs, 46 Certified Fraud Examiners, 6 Certified Information Systems Auditors, 9 Certified in Financial Forensics, and 2 Attorneys.
10:45 am – Mr. Norman is discussing the extreme difficulty in auditing the Stimulus package funds, especially in light of the shortening time frames that are being proposed. He also mentioned that audit responsiblity of the newly created Lottery is going to place an additional burden on the Division. If you got purple nurples and wedgies in high school, it is looking like you might send your resume in to them soon. They will probably be hiring CPAs.
10:51 am – The Division of Legislative Audit has some useful Publications and Guides for those in County and City government. Those of you who want to hold your local government accountable might find that information useful too.
10:54 am – You may go here to Report Public Corruption and Fraud
10:59 am – Senators Salmon and Pritchard are pointing that Legislative Joint Audit is an important committee. Sen. Pritchard is drawing legislators attention to the fact that the committee has supeona powers.
11:02 am – Here is an interesting article in Arkansas Business: Legislative Audit Keeps Watch for Financial Monkey Business
11:06 am – Rep. Garry Smith is asking about staffing sufficiency to properly audit the stimulus package funding. Points out that there is a shortage of people qualified to be able to perform these duties in the first place. Mr. Norman says that the economic downturn and several recent business events in Arkansas has meant that there are a temporary surplus of talent.
11:09 am – Mr Norman has completed his presenation.
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