The Office of the Comptroller of Puerto Rico issued a qualified opinion on the fiscal operations of the Senate of Puerto Rico. A qualified opinion is issued when noncompliances, individually or in the aggregate, are significant but not pervasive.
The Report reveals that, as of November 7, 2018, the Senate had not conducted the annual inventory of documents, recordings, and historical material of the Inactive Archive for 2017 as required by Regulation 23 of 2016. In addition, the secretary of the Senate certified that he did not find any of the documents related to the conducting of annual inventories for the years 2013 to 2016. These deficiencies prevent maintaining adequate control of the documents.
The single-finding audit also notes that the physical conditions of the inactive documents warehouse of the Froilán building were not adequate. Our auditors inspected the warehouse before and after Hurricane María.
In the inspection of August 16, 2017, it was verified that the boxes were in no order, open and unidentified, and the warehouse full of dust, mold, and humidity. In the inspection after the hurricane, on October 27, 2017, open boxes were found, wet documents impossible to identify, and part of the warehouse roof affected by the impact of the hurricane (see photographs in Exhibits 1 and 2 of the Report).
These situations constitute a risk to the health of the employees. In fact, the laboratory tests and clinical analyses commissioned by the Senate in December 2017 revealed that the place is contaminated with bacteria, mold, and excrement, that the documents were damaged and illegible, and the place not suitable for storing documents.
The Report also comments that the Senate has 11 lawsuits for $93 million, pending resolution by the courts. The lawsuits are for employment discrimination, recovery of money, payment of judgment, and access to the facilities, among others.
The Report covers the period from January 1, 2013 to December 31, 2017.
See the Audit Report DA-19-18.
To see other published reports, visit our Audit Reports section.
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