The Comptroller of Puerto Rico issued a qualified opinion of the fiscal operations of the Central Directorate and Administration of the Department of Health. A qualified opinion is issued when noncompliances, individually or in the aggregate, are significant but not pervasive.
The Report reveals that the Department of Health hired the services of certified public accountants to perform the single audits for fiscal years 2016 through 2018 up to 15 months late. As provided by the laws and regulations in force, the hiring of external auditors must be carried out 90 days before the close of the fiscal year to be audited. For the 2018 single audit, January 31, 2018 was established as the hiring date, in order to also comply with the date established by the Fiscal Oversight Board.
The audit of one finding notes that the 2016 single audit was submitted to the federal agencies two years late. As of June 10, 2019, the 2017 and 2018 reports had not been completed or submitted to the federal agencies, contrary to the provisions of the Single Audit Act Amendments of 1996 and the federal and local regulations in force.
These situations prevent the Department from complying with its responsibility to perform the single audits and submit them to the designated federal agency. The Report recommends that the Secretary of Health issue instructions for the Secretary of Planning, Development and Federal Affairs to comply with the corresponding hiring and that the single audits be submitted to the federal agencies within the established time.
The Report covers the period from July 1, 2015 to May 31, 2019.
See Audit Report DA-20-13.
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