The Comptroller of Puerto Rico issues a qualified opinion on the transactions related to the revenues and the accounts receivable of the Council on Education of Puerto Rico. A qualified opinion is issued when the instances of noncompliance, individually or in the aggregate, are significant but not pervasive.
The Report reveals that the Council on Education of Puerto Rico took up to more than four months to contract certified public accountants to prepare the financial statements (Single Audits) for fiscal years 2012 to 2015. Act 273-2013, on Contractual Standards on Independence in the External Audits of Government Entities, provides that the contracting must be carried out 90 days before the close of the fiscal year to be audited.
This situation made it impossible to comply with the provisions of the Single Audit Act Amendments of 1996 , which require submitting information on the use of the federal funds received. In addition, it could affect the future allocation of funds, putting at risk the financial aid provided to students, among other consequences.
The audit comments that as of February 17, 2017, only 287 of 1,292 schools of the Department of Education had an authorization license, contrary to Article 11 of Reorganization Plan No. 1 of July 26, 2010. The Plan also establishes that the accreditation of the schools by the Council on Education of Puerto Rico will be mandatory. Four years after the Plan took effect –in 2015–, only 22% of the schools had an authorization license and, of these, only 8% were accredited.
The one-finding Report covers the period from July 1, 2011 to December 31, 2016.
See Audit Report CP-18-10.
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