Audit Oversight Framework

Adopted by the Legislative Budget & Audit Committee to progress and closeout aging audit findings

Click to Visit the Leg Audit Site

Highlighted Priorities

Priority One
– Over 1 billion owed to the CBR
 
– Transferring the remaining 25% of royalty revenues to the Permanent Fund for FY 18/19
+ Roughly $200 million
 
-Transferring eligible royalty revenues to the CBR for FY 18, 19, and 20
+ Roughly $55 million
 
Priority Two
– Thirteen other Annual report errors such as the understatement of the General Fund by roughly $40 million
– Late Delivery of the financial reports
 
Priorities Three through Five: Medicaid
– Medicaid Processing Times, determination errors, and TANF deficiencies
– Eligibility system, Reprocessing errors, Dental overutilization, SURS Program

What is the Audit Oversight Framework?

One of my favorite committee assignments is the Legislative Budget & Audit (LB&A) Committee. This is a joint committee, with both senators and house members. We are responsible for fiscal analysis, budget reviews, audits and performance reviews of state government agencies, and monitoring/oversight of lending and investment activities of the state (including the Permanent Fund).

Click here to visit the LB&A Website!

Over the last 10 years or so, Alaska has seen our statewide audit findings increase from 30 findings to 94 findings. One reason is that a framework has not been in place to follow up, take action, and see the actions through to closure. With the help of our great Legislative Audit division and support of the Legislative Budget & Audit (LB&A) Committee Chair Senator Natasha Von Imhof we have created a framework to serve this purpose. This framework will integrate the closure of high-priority, high-dollar items with the budget process and will allow the legislature to exercise the oversight for which it is responsible. There are over a billion dollars’ worth of corrections on our priority list. Some are easy, and some will take more time, but review our priorities, plan, and this webpage and contact me with questions or comments!

Highlighted Priorities

Priority One
– Over 1 billion owed to the CBR
– Transferring the remaining 25% of royalty revenues to the Permanent Fund for FY 18/19
+ Roughly $200 million
-Transferring eligible royalty revenues to the CBR for FY 18, 19, and 20
+ Roughly $55 million
Priority Two
– Thirteen other Annual report errors such as the understatement of the General Fund by roughly $40 million
 
– Late Delivery of the financial reports
 
Priorities Three through seven: Medicaid
– Medicaid Processing Times, determination errors, and roughly $30 million in payments to ineligible beneficiaries
 
– Eligibility system, Reprocessing errors, Dental overutilization, SURS Program

Oversight Process

Focus

Identify top audit findings in terms of fiscal and/or societal impact and degree of difficulty in addressing findings

Communicate

Work with auditees to identify corrective action for top audit findings

Evaluate

Determine whether corrective action requires legislative action. Refer to legislative committee for consideration

Measure

Examine Progress through the legislative finance committee process

Repeat

Once Single Audit (ACFR) is released, repeat this process. Process covers all audit reports issued over a fiscal year.

What's Next?

Letters have been received from the department and recommended actions have been forwarded to budget subcommittees for review and action.

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LB&A Committee Excerpts

7/29/2021: Introduction of Concept

Summary:  Senator Natasha Von Imhof, Chair of Legislative Budget and Audit, kindly provided me an opportunity to present this concept. I present the problem statement and the idea to the committee. Next I am joined by Legislative Auditor Kris Curtis to discuss the mechanics of the framework and how to actualize the idea.

Duration: 7-8 minutes

Meeting Link: http://www.akleg.gov/basis/Meeting/Deta….

8/27/2021: Audit Oversight Framework presentation and discussion of Top 10 findings

Summary: After working independently with Legislative Auditor Kris Curtis she put together a great slideshow (embedded above on this webpage) that presented the problem, framework, and top 10 audit findings that the committee should dedicate its focus.

Duration: 24 minutes

Meeting Link: http://www.akleg.gov/basis/Meeting/Detai….

11/9/2021: Approval of Audit Oversight Framework and discussion of timeline

Summary: In this meeting, the presentation/top-10 findings are reviewed, the path forward is finalized, and the framework is approved unanimously by all LB&A committee members.  

Duration: 13 minutes

Meeting Link: http://www.akleg.gov/basis/Meeting/Det…

11/2/2022: New 2022 Top 8 Audit Findings Presentation and Handbook Revision to include Audit Oversight Framework

Summary: At this meeting, we formalized the Audit Oversight Framework process by including it in the LB&A Handbook. Also, after working with the Legislative Auditor we updated our priority list with a new top 8 audit issues which were presented to the committee

Duration: The first 35 minutes of the meeting

Meeting Link: http://www.akleg.gov/basis/Meeting/Detai….

12/14/2022: Top Audit Findings - Agency Follow Up Responses

Summary: The Audit Oversight Framework inclusion in this meeting is very short and mostly releasing the agency follow-up responses to questions about the top priority audit findings.

Duration: N/A

Meeting Link: http://www.akleg.gov/basis/Meeting/Det…

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