DiNapoli’s Office Releases Audits on State Program

ALBANY -- State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli announced today the results of three audits of state programs, which in all cases reveal some areas that need improvement.

The comptroller’s office found the following:

Department of Civil Service New York State Health Insurance Program: Health Insurance Premiums for Participating Employers

The billing process for the New York State Health Insurance Program, the Department of Civil Service administers employee health insurance programs for state agencies, public authorities and local government agencies was examined and found to be timely. However, the department's records were not fully updated when some of the covered employees changed employers which led to three public authorities being either under-billed or over-billed for their covered employees. Department officials reported that the state would recovery of $565,671 when the errors identified are corrected. Click here for a full report.

Housing Finance Agency Senior Housing Finance Program Follow-Up Report

A prior audit of the Senior Housing Finance Program, run by the Housing Finance Agency (HFA), examined the owners' compliance with these requirements and found instances of late submissions, outdated lease agreements and agreements missing required HFA riders. Auditors found progress had been made in implementing audit recommendations, but additional actions were still needed. Click here for a full report.

State University of New York Educational Opportunity Program

The audit examined the use of Educational Opportunity Program (EOP) funds at four selected State University of New York (SUNY) campuses and found that three of the campuses did not always use funds in accordance with requirements. During the two years covered by the audit, a counselor at the University of Albany was paid $93,182 to work with EOP students. However, there was little documentation to support the counselor's work activities and there are indications the counselor may not have worked all the time that was claimed. Auditors identified a total of $636,117 in questionable EOP expenditures at three campuses, and recommended SUNY System Administration improve its monitoring of EOP activities. Click here for a full report.

-- NYSSCPA.org News Staff

Posted on 7/8/08