AUDIT SUMMARY

 

Our audit of the real estate leases administered by the Department of General Services’ (General Services) Division of Real Estate Services (Real Estate Services) and accounted for by the Office of Fiscal Services and the Epidemiology and Laboratory Capacity for Infectious Diseases federal grant program, administered by General Services’ Division of Consolidated Laboratory Services (DCLS) for the year ended June 30, 2024, found:

 

• • proper recording and reporting of all transactions, in all material respects, in the Real Estate Services’ real estate management system and the Department of Accounts’ (Accounts) Internal Service Fund Attachment, after adjustment for the misstatement noted in the finding titled “Improve Internal Controls over Financial Reporting of Leased Assets;”

 

• • proper recording and reporting of all transactions, in all material respects, in relation to the federal grant program in the Commonwealth’s accounting and financial reporting system;

 

• • one matter involving internal control and its operation necessary to bring to management’s attention, which is considered a material weakness;

 

• • no instances of noncompliance with applicable laws and regulations or other matters that are required to be reported; and

 

• • corrective action on the prior audit finding remains ongoing as indicated in the Findings Summary included in the Appendix.

 

In the section titled “Internal Control Finding and Recommendation,” we have included our assessment of the conditions and causes resulting in the internal control and compliance finding identified through our audit as well as our recommendation for addressing the finding.  Our assessment does not remove management’s responsibility to perform a thorough assessment of the conditions and causes of the finding and develop and appropriately implement adequate corrective action to resolve the finding as required by Accounts in Section 10205 – Agency Response to APA Audit of the Commonwealth Accounting Policies and Procedures Manual.  The corrective action may include additional items beyond our recommendation.

 

General Services is one of several entities cited in a risk alert in the Department of Accounts’ (Accounts) fiscal year 2024 audit report.  The “Financial Reporting” risk alert identifies the increased risk that the Commonwealth may not meet the deadline for the Annual Comprehensive Financial Report, which could jeopardize the Commonwealth’s bond rating, because multiple entities have increasingly submitted inaccurate and late financial information to Accounts over the past several fiscal years.  As an entity that is contributing to this increased risk for the Commonwealth, General Services’ corrective action to correct the issues in the finding titled “Improve Internal Controls over Financial Reporting of Leased Assets” is essential to reducing the risk to the Commonwealth.