John Keel, CPA
Texas State Auditor
SAO:
Reports:
An Audit Report on the Health and Human Services Commission's Consolidation
of Administrative Support Services
|
John Keel, CPA |
January 2006
Report Number 06-018
The Health and Human Services Commission (Commission) should ensure that the business processes of health and human services agencies' financial services and information resources functions are operating efficiently and effectively as intended by House Bill 2292 (78th Legislature, Regular Session). To do this, the Commission should:
- Conduct a comprehensive business process analysis of the health and human services agencies' financial services functions. The health and human services agencies reported experiencing a strain on their resources in processing purchase vouchers and completing the entry of budget data.
- Strengthen its oversight of the health and human services agencies' information resources functions. The Commission decided to centrally manage and support only certain information systems. The Commission assigned the management and support of the remaining estimated 700 information systems to the health and human services agencies that use them.
In addition, the Commission needs to improve its oversight of its human resources and payroll services contractor. The Commission did not adequately monitor its contractor's preparations for and costs associated with transferring services, which led to the health and human services agencies' experiencing problems with the services the contractor provided. The Commission also needs to improve its oversight of this contractor's performance and compliance with other contractual obligations. The Commission did not ensure that changes in contract terms were adequately documented or that the executed contract was amended.
The Commission should standardize the access and application controls of its internal accounting system's financial modules, which are used by the health and human services agencies, to improve controls and achieve efficiencies in processing electronic purchase vouchers. The Commission should also correct access rights in the internal accounting system. Correcting access rights will help to prevent the possible misuse or abuse of financial applications and improve the accountability of financial transactions that health and human services agencies create.
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