The Office of the Comptroller of Puerto Rico issued a qualified opinion of the fiscal operations of the Commerce and Export Company of Puerto Rico (CCE), now the Commerce and Export Program of the Department of Economic Development and Commerce (DDEC), following the reorganization established in Act 141-2018, Act to Implement the Reorganization Plan of the Department of Economic Development. A qualified opinion is issued when the noncompliances individually or together are significant, but not pervasive.
The Report reveals that, as of February 28, 2022, the Company had 224 lease accounts receivable for $16,286,551 for the rental of warehouses and lots, rent payment plans, and rent from former tenants. From a sample of the accounts examined, delinquency of up to six months was determined in 200 accounts for $14,882,559.
The auditors identified an overdue invoice for $17,136, with no rent collection effort despite more than fifteen months having elapsed since the date stipulated for the sending of the first collection letter. In addition, the first collection effort of the Treasury Office, corresponding to 54 invoices overdue in six rent accounts for $1,047,273, was recorded with delays of up to 17 months. This Office had also not made collection efforts on the rent of two former tenants for $1,536,703.
This situation is attributed to the fact that, in February 2022, the transfer of the information from the Great Plains system used by the CCE to the Financial Accounting System of the DDEC had not been completed. To that effect, the DDEC did not have these economic resources to address its operational and administrative expenses.
The two-finding audit notes that the DDEC did not credit payments for $936,948 from 50 lessees. According to the chief Finance officer, these payments had not been credited due to the lack of personnel, and because she did not know the information contained in the balances.
The Report recommends to the secretary of Economic Development and Commerce to validate that effective and timely collection efforts are made, that the provisions established in the Collection Procedure be complied with, and that the necessary personnel be assigned to work the accounts of the lessees, among others.
Audit Report OC-24-11 can be obtained on our Internet page: www.ocpr.gov.pr.
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