New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli announced today the following audits have been issued:

Department of Agriculture and Markets: Food Safety Monitoring (2015-F-10)

An audit report issued in January 2014 found the department was unable to meet the demands of its inspection frequency schedule, and identified instances of both existing and new establishments preparing food prior to obtaining the required inspection. In addition, the department’s staff of 82 inspectors was below recommended staffing levels. In a follow-up, auditors found department officials made significant progress in addressing the problems identified in the initial audit. Of the three prior audit recommendations, two were implemented and one was partially implemented.

Division of the Budget (DOB): Quality of Internal Control Certifications (2015-F-7)

In 2012, auditors conducted a series of audits at 12 state agencies focusing specifically on their 2011-2012 Internal Control Certifications submitted to the Division of the Budget (DOB). Auditors examined whether these agencies submitted their certifications on time, answered all the questions with the appropriate level of detail, and maintained documentation supporting the answers given. The initial audit reports concluded that improvements were needed to the quality of Internal Control Certifications at 10 of the 12 agencies. In a follow-up report, auditors found agency officials made significant progress in addressing the problems identified.

Department of Health (DOH): Overpayments of Hospitals’ Claims for Lengthy Acute Care Admissions (Follow-Up) (2015-F-12)

An initial audit report issued in July 2013 identified $7.8 million in Medicaid overpayments. The overpayments occurred primarily because hospitals billed Medicaid for higher (and more costly) levels of acute care when, in fact, patients received lower-cost non-acute care. In a follow-up, auditors found DOH officials recovered the overpayments identified in the initial report, notified hospitals of the correct way to bill inpatient claims, and modified its contractor’s sampling plan to select and review similar claims at high risk of overpayment.

Roswell Park Cancer Institute: Security Over Electronic Protected Health Information (2014-S-67)

The institute has taken many steps to safeguard its electronic protected health information (ePHI) and meet security requirements. In addition, auditors found the institute has adequate protection policies in place and a plan to make mandatory notifications when ePHI is lost or stolen. However, auditors identified some improvement opportunities.

State University of New York (SUNY): Selected Procurement and Contracting Practices (2014-S-19)

SUNY officials have generally established good internal controls over procurement and have effectively communicated these procedures to the campuses. Tests at seven campuses and system administration, however, found they don’t consistently follow some of these procurement policies. For example, of 924 procurements reviewed, 97 in the $500 to $250,000 range and totaling more than $1.1 million lacked required documentation to demonstrate that the price was reasonable. Auditors also identified some campus practices that go beyond SUNY’s requirements to manage cost and could serve as best practice examples if more widely shared among the campuses.