The Office of the Comptroller of Puerto Rico issued a qualified opinion on the fiscal operations of the Municipality of Añasco. A qualified opinion is issued when the instances of noncompliance, individually or in the aggregate, are significant but not pervasive.
The Report reveals the lack of supporting documents in the transactions made with the credit card assigned to the mayor from 2016 to 2020. Of a total of 265 transactions for travel, hotel stays, restaurants, vehicle rental, or the purchase of materials, among others, for $38,593, the purchase receipts and invoices were not included in 214 transactions, nor were the certifications on the nature of the expenses included in 243 transactions. In 163 restaurant transactions, information on the persons who participated in the various activities was also not included.
These situations are attributed to the fact that the then mayor did not comply with his duty to certify the expenses, and neither the former Finance director nor the pre-auditor verified the legality of the supporting documents. Similar situations had been commented on in Audit Report M-20-11 of September 24, 2019.
The three-finding audit notes deficiencies with the disbursement vouchers and their supporting documents. From a sample of the 24,425 vouchers for $52,659,320 paid from 2017 to 2020, it was identified that 45% of the vouchers did not detail the good or service required, 6% did not indicate the good or service and, in 25% of the vouchers, the pre-auditor certified that the supporting documents were in accordance with the regulations in force despite the fact that they did not contain a breakdown of dates and hours worked in the activity. These situations do not allow determining the reasonableness of the services rendered and the correctness of the payments made.
The Report also reveals that, contrary to the law and regulations in force, payments of $59,200 were made for the purchase of flashlights, radios, and survival bracelets, without obtaining quotes from at least three representative providers in the market.
This second and final report on Añasco covers the period from July 1, 2017 to December 31, 2020.
See Audit Report M-22-29.
To see other published reports, visit our Audit Reports section.
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