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Performance Audit of the Michigan Schools for the Deaf and Blind (MSDB)
Receives AOPTA Award - January 8, 2001
Michael Mayhew, Deputy Auditor General for Audits, is pleased to announce that the audit team for the performance audit of the Michigan Schools for the Deaf and Blind (MSDB), Department of Education, is the winner of the Audit Operations Project Team Award (AOPTA) for the six months ended September 30, 2000. The audit team consisted of Mary Martin, supervisor, and team members Carol O'Callaghan and Stacie Sampson, with software assistance by Andrew Mitchell. The AOPTA was established in 1992 and is awarded every six months to recognize exceptional efforts of project teams in the Bureau of Audit Operations. MSDB and its predecessor agencies, prior to their combining in 1995, have provided important services to two select groups of Michigan citizens for more than 100 years. The services are provided to help improve the lives of these citizens, most of which are children. The audit team did a fine job of planning and conducting the audit that resulted in the exceptional audit report. The prior audits of the two predecessor agencies were made many years ago and significant changes in operations and service provision had occurred since the last audits. Thus, the audit team had little from those audits to build upon. The preliminary planning was thorough and identified the most important issues on which to focus the audit. The team performed the audit methodology in a logical and efficient manner. This occurred even though audit conditions were sometimes difficult. The audit team did a good job of complying with OAG project management standards related to the time budget, project milestones, and report processing. The due process was very smooth; MSDB agreed with all of the findings and corresponding recommendation, even though a number of them were of an important and high-impact nature. The audit report contained 10 findings, many of which had multiple parts, and 2 of the findings were classified as material. The report is a superior example of a government audit agency product that should be very useful to the Legislature, the Department of Education, and the auditee in making future decisions regarding the operations of MSDB. The findings, a number of which are creative, address issues ranging from the future operation and viability of the agency, to the effectiveness of services provided, to improvements in the providing of services. The House Fiscal Agency has contacted the OAG twice concerning this audit and was impressed and interested in the audit scope and findings. The exceptional audit was the result of a dedicated and superior effort from an audit team with limited experience. This was Mary's first job as a supervisor and she had no prior audit experience with MSDB or the Department of Education. Stacie, who was on the team the entire audit, had been with the OAG approximately one month when assigned to the audit. Carol, who had been on one other Education audit, was on the MSDB audit less than 50% of the time.
Single Audit of the Michigan Department of State Police (MSP)
Receives AOPTA Award - May 21, 2001
Michael Mayhew, Deputy Auditor General for Audits, is pleased to announce that the audit team for the Single Audit of the Michigan Department of State Police (MSP) is the winner of the Audit Operations Project Team Award (AOPTA) for the six months ended March 31, 2001. The audit team consisted of Amy Zimmerman, supervisor, and team members Jill Gard, Mary Kay Mays, Lori Mullins, and Rod Wlock. The AOPTA was established in 1992 and is awarded every six months to recognize exceptional efforts of project teams in the Bureau of Audit Operations. This audit is an excellent example of an efficient and quality financial audit that was well planned, well executed, and issued in a timely manner. The preliminary planning was thorough and the crew efficiently implemented the new federal Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circular A-133 requirements, including the new risk-based approach and the new COSO (Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission) control documentation and evaluation standards. The audit crew did an excellent job coordinating with the agency to keep the project moving without unnecessary delays and maintained a good working relationship with the agency staff. The report was issued within the required 13-month time frame, without any extraordinary report processing efforts by the OAG or agency. The audit report contained 8 findings and recommendations that provided important feedback to MSP on how to improve internal controls, financial operations, and cash management practices and how to maximize federal funds. MSP agreed with all of the findings and has been working on corrective action. This audit crew worked well as a team and also showed devotion to the overall mission of the OAG. During the audit period, the audit team spent three weeks working in cooperation with the State of Michigan Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (SOMCAFR) audit team by completing statement reviews and assisting Quality Assurance in reviewing working papers. This assistance was provided inan effort to enable the Department of Management and Budget to meet its goal for issuing the SOMCAFR. The audit team then worked hard to get their fieldwork back on track to complete the Single Audit and issue the report within the 13-month time frame.
Performance and Financial Related Audit of the Child Development and Care Program
Receives NLPES Award - July 2, 2001
Auditor General Thomas H. McTavish received the following letter from Jane Thesing, Chair, National Legislative Program Evaluation Society (NLPES) Awards Committee:
Congratulations! I am pleased to inform you that your office will receive a Certificate of Recognition of Impact from the National Legislative Program Evaluation Society (NLPES) for your report entitled Performance and Financial Related Audit of the Child Development and Care Program, Family Independence Agency. NLPES will present the certificate to your office during its annual business meeting and luncheon, which will be held at noon on Tuesday, August 14, in conjunction with the National Conference of State Legislatures' Annual Meeting in San Antonio, Texas. We invite you or a representative of your office to attend the luncheon to receive your certificate. On behalf of the NLPES Executive Committee, thank you for the contributions that your office makes to the field of legislative program evaluation.
The individuals who were responsible for the Child Development and Care Program audit included: Joseph Harrison, Audit Division Administrator; James Bellinger, Audit Manager; Michael Laycock, supervisor; and team members Brian Hovey, Daniel Jaroche, and Piper Metz, with software assistance by Andrew Mitchell and Beth Larson.
Performance Audit of the Wayne County Community College District
Receives AOPTA Award - December 3, 2001
Michael Mayhew, Deputy Auditor General for Audits, is pleased to announce that the audit team for the performance audit of the Wayne County Community College District is the winner of the Audit Operations Project Team Award (AOPTA) for the six months ended September 30, 2001. The audit team consisted of Scot Hazel, supervisor, and team members Duane Smiley and Scott Werner, with software assistance by Andrew Mitchell. The audit team did a fine job of performing the various audit functions that resulted in the exceptional audit report. In particular, the thorough preliminary survey identified the most important issues on which to focus the audit. Also, the team performed the audit methodology in a logical and efficient manner, although the issues were varied and the College had five branch campuses. The due process went extremely well because of the audit team's efforts throughout the audit and during the report development phase. During the due process, the audit team often worked directly with the Chancellor to resolve issues. As a result, an audit conference was not held because the College agreed with all of the recommendations, even though a number of items were of an important and high-impact nature. The audit report contained 10 findings and 13 recommendations. Many of the findings were creative and/or had multiple parts. The findings addressed issues including the identification and collection of significant revenue, improper expenditures, effectiveness issues regarding student academic success, and efficiency issues. Three findings were classified as material. It is critical that the College comply with two of the material findings to help maintain its fiscal stability. The report is an excellent example of a government audit agency product that should be very useful to the auditee and its stakeholders in making future decisions regarding the College's operations. This exceptional audit was the result of a dedicated and superior effort from an audit team with fairly limited experience. ScottWerner had just started with the OAG and this was his first audit, Duane Smiley had been with the OAG less than three years and this was his first college audit, and this was Scot Hazel's first college audit as a supervisor.
This page was updated on 03/03/03.
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