The Office of the Comptroller of Puerto Rico recalls that Audit Report TI-18-15, dated June 25, 2018, had flagged that the lack of automated administrative controls in the Human Resources system -STAFF- of the Department of Education caused improper payroll payments of $558,069 to be made to 105 former employees who had ceased their duties between 2015 and 2016. The audit showed that the payroll payment file sent to the Department of Treasury contained records of employees who had ceased up to 10 months earlier.
“After more than three years, we see that the Department of Education is going to take the corrective measures that the Office of the Comptroller had recommended in this regard in 2018,” noted the Comptroller of Puerto Rico, Yesmín M. Valdivieso. “In this sense, the steps that the Department of Education will be taking in the coming weeks comply with the recommendations of the Audit Report and with the applicable laws and regulations,” the Comptroller indicated.
In fact, that Report recommended that the head of the Department of Education in 2018 ensure that the assistant secretary of Human Resources establish the automated controls in the Human Resources system -STAFF- to reduce the possibility of making improper payroll disbursements, and that the assistant secretary of Finance carry out the appropriate efforts to recover the payroll payments made incorrectly. The audit also suggested that the Department ensure the recovery of payments that did not correspond to the employees.
“We often see little attention from some entities to the recommendations of the Office of the Comptroller. Audit reports are a valuable instrument to correct the situations that are detected and to improve the management of public funds and property. Failing to act immediately and responsibly causes the flagged facts to worsen over time and the remedy to carry a greater cost to the treasury,” the Comptroller of Puerto Rico concluded.
CONTACT: Lisandra Rivera Rivera, Director
Office of Press and Communications
lriverar@ocpr.gov.pr
(787) 250-3322
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