Deficiencies in the fiscal operations of the Superintendence of the Capitol
The Office of the Comptroller of Puerto Rico (OCPR) issued a qualified opinion on the fiscal operations of the Superintendence of the State Capitol of the Legislative Assembly of Puerto Rico. A qualified opinion is issued when the noncompliances, individually or together, are significant but not pervasive.
The Report reveals deficiencies related to the request, acquisition, and receipt of goods and services through purchase orders. From the sample examined, 15% included quotes received before preparing the Materials Requisition forms, and in 5% of the purchase orders, the Superintendence obligated the funds 52 days after receiving the services.
These situations contrary to the 2014 Purchasing Regulation may affect transparency in the processes since they do not promote open and fair competition among suppliers.
In addition, in 45% of the purchase orders, the Receipt and Inspection Report forms were prepared up to 63 days after the invoice date, and in 5%, goods different from those requested were received. The auditors also detected that 10% of the invoices submitted by two suppliers did not include the certification required by the Contractors' Code of Ethics.
These deficiencies fostered the Superintendence not carrying out adequate control of purchases. In this way, the Superintendence also did not have the certifications guaranteeing that none of its employees has any interest in the profits resulting from the purchase.
The three-finding audit notes that the Superintendence cannot exercise adequate control of the goods acquired for other entities of the Legislative Assembly, since the Budget Rules and the Property Regulation lack provisions in this regard. For example, as of March 1, 2024, the Superintendence had an account receivable from another entity for $20 thousand recorded in its books since December 7, 2020. The absence of regulatory rules fosters the Superintendence not carrying out adequate collection efforts.
The Report indicates that 10 employees performed conflicting functions as receivers in the Purchasing and Requisitions module with access to the documents of the purchasing process. This fact, contrary to the Regulation on the Administration and Use of Systems, fosters the commission of errors or irregularities.
The Superintendence's budget was $167.8 million from 2017 to 2024, and it had made disbursements for $147.7 million as of June 30, 2024.
The audit recommends that the presidents of the Senate and the House of Representatives take the measures necessary to ensure that the superintendent of the Capitol complies with the recommendations of this Report and that the situations are not repeated.
This second report covers the period from January 1, 2017, to June 30, 2024.
Audit Report OC-25-63 is available on our website: www.ocpr.gov.pr
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