The Office of the Comptroller of Puerto Rico issues an adverse opinion on the fiscal operations of the Trust, related to the proposals for economic assistance, the contracts granted for grants and sponsorships, the progress reports submitted by the benefited entities, and the functions of the internal consultants.
The Report reveals the absence of provisions in the policies related to the proposals for economic assistance with respect to the receipt, control, evaluation, and conservation of the proposals. The grants and sponsorships policy was not updated to the operational changes of the Trust and lacked provisions defining what a matching of funds and financing is, the maximum amount that the executive director can approve, and the awarding of a contract prior to the disbursement. Our auditors identified in a sample of the proposals that they lacked important information, for which reason the Trust could not maintain adequate control, and those deficiencies foster an environment for errors and irregularities to occur.
The Interim Executive Director, from January 2013 until August 30, 2014, performed conflicting functions in the receipt and evaluation of the proposals. This official received the proposals, participated in the evaluation process, and even determined to whom it would be awarded. In addition, he may have incurred a conflict of interest since he approved and formalized two contracts for $50,200 with a company that he had incorporated in the Department of State in 2012. The Report recommends that the Executive Director of the Office of Government Ethics evaluate this situation.
The eight-finding audit also indicates possible conflicts of interest on the part of a Consultant who, from 2012 to 2015, performed conflicting functions such as: receiving the proposals, being a member of the evaluation committees, certifying the disbursements as administrator of the contract, and representative of the accounting area. In addition, contrary to the norms of sound administration and internal control, the Trust granted contracts with retroactivity of up to six months and contract amendments up to one year after the termination of the contract.
The Report indicates multiple deficiencies due to the absence of documents and certifications in the contract files. In addition, amounts in excess of the Trust's policy were approved and paid, unapproved expenses were included in the progress reports of grant contracts, and the benefited entities took up to one year to submit the progress reports.
The Report covers the period from January 1, 2010 to March 31, 2016.
See Audit Report CP-18-07
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