Report 2011-123 Recommendations
When an audit is completed and a report is issued, auditees must provide the State Auditor with information regarding their progress in implementing recommendations from our reports at three intervals from the release of the report: 60 days, six months, and one year. Additionally, Senate Bill 1452 (Chapter 452, Statutes of 2006), requires auditees who have not implemented recommendations after one year, to report to us and to the Legislature why they have not implemented them or to state when they intend to implement them. Below, is a listing of each recommendation the State Auditor made in the report referenced and a link to the most recent response from the auditee addressing their progress in implementing the recommendation and the State Auditor's assessment of auditee's response based on our review of the supporting documentation.
Recommendations in Report 2011-123: Oil Spill Prevention and Administration Fund: The Department of Fish and Game and the Office of Spill Prevention and Response Need to Improve Their Administration of the Spill Fund (Release Date: August 2012)
| Recommendations to Fish and Wildlife, Department of | ||
|---|---|---|
| Number | Recommendation | Status |
| 1 | To prepare and report accurate fund condition statements for inclusion in the governor's budget each year, Fish and Game should ensure that staff in its budget branch follow written procedures to develop fund condition statements. |
Fully Implemented |
| 2 | To prepare and report accurate fund condition statements for inclusion in the governor's budget each year, Fish and Game should train both new and existing staff on how to prepare fund condition statements for inclusion in the governor's budget. |
Fully Implemented |
| 3 | To ensure that three-year projections of the spill fund's revenues, expenditures, and fund balances, all of which are used to determine fee rates, are based on accurate financial information, the spill office should develop written procedures directing staff on how to prepare the three-year projection, including steps to verify the accuracy of the financial information in the projection. In developing these procedures, the spill office should consult with Fish and Game's accounting branch and budget branch to confirm that these procedures are thorough and complete. |
Fully Implemented |
| 4 | To ensure that three-year projections of the spill fund's revenues, expenditures, and fund balances, all of which are used to determine fee rates, are based on accurate financial information, the spill office should consider the reduction in the spill fund's costs, as a result of the recovery of indirect administrative costs, when projecting its fund balance moving forward. |
Fully Implemented |
| 5 | To prevent under- or over-recovery of federal funds, Fish and Game should regularly reassess whether using budgeted expenditures or actual expenditures will produce the most accurate results. |
Fully Implemented |
| Recommendations to Lands Commission, State | ||
|---|---|---|
| Number | Recommendation | Status |
| 9 | To comply with state law, State Lands should develop time sheet review procedures to ensure that its employees charge the spill fund only for oil spill prevention activities and that those charges are accurate. |
Fully Implemented |
| Recommendations to Legislature | ||
|---|---|---|
| Number | Recommendation | Status |
| 10 | To eliminate confusion about the authority of the spill office and its relationship with Fish and Game, the Legislature should consider amending state law to clarify its intent regarding the administrator's authority. |
Unknown |
| Recommendations to Spill Prevention and Response, Office of | ||
|---|---|---|
| Number | Recommendation | Status |
| 6 | To ensure that the spill office continues to work consistently with other entities to resolve issues with the use of staff and equipment and that it has the necessary resources to carry out its operations, the spill office should develop written policies and procedures with Fish and Game enforcement regarding staffing decisions. |
Fully Implemented |
| 7 | To ensure that the spill office continues to work consistently with other entities to resolve issues with the use of staff and equipment and that it has the necessary resources to carry out its operations, the spill office should develop written policies and procedures with Fish and Game's IT unit regarding the coordination of response to system outages. |
Fully Implemented |
| 8 | To ensure that the spill office continues to work consistently with other entities to resolve issues with the use of staff and equipment and that it has the necessary resources to carry out its operations, the spill office should develop written policies and procedures with the State Lands Commission (State Lands) regarding its disclosure of budget change proposals affecting the spill fund. |
Fully Implemented |