The Office of the Comptroller of Puerto Rico issued a qualified opinion on the fiscal operations of the Office of Government Ethics of Puerto Rico. A qualified opinion is issued when the instances of non-compliance, individually or in the aggregate, are significant but not pervasive.
The Report reveals that, as of August 29, 2023, the Office of Government Ethics had not submitted to the Office of the Comptroller the monthly reports of the Position Registry, from January 2021 to June 2023, as provided by the applicable law and regulations. A similar situation had been commented on in two audit reports published in 2015 and 2018.
The Office of Government Ethics interprets that the provisions of the law and regulations on submitting monthly reports to the Position Registry do not apply to it. However, Act 103-2006 was amended by Act 29-2008 to extend compliance with the Position Registry to all Government entities that are part of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches without any exception.
The one-finding audit notes that, although the Office of Government Ethics sends a semiannual paper report containing similar information, this does not comply with the form and frequency required by the Position Registry. These semiannual reports lack, for example, the number of positions created and eliminated, appointments or separations, or the amount paid in the settlement of leave, among others.
The Comptroller's Report recommends to the executive director of the Office of Government Ethics that he issue instructions for compliance with reporting and submitting the monthly reports as established by the applicable law. In addition, he must ensure that the situation commented on is not repeated.
From July 1, 2020, to October 2023, the Office of Government Ethics received appropriations from the joint resolutions of the General Budget, federal funds, incentive funds under Act 52-1991, and other revenues for a total of $39,440,883. In addition, it made disbursements against these of $29,194,900, for a balance of $10,245,983.
This Audit Report covers the period from January 1, 2021, to October 31, 2023. Audit Report OC-24-41 can be obtained on our website: www.ocpr.gov.pr.
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