AUDIT SUMMARY

 

Our audit of the Department of Health (Health), including the federal grant programs: Activities to Support State, Tribal, Local and Territorial (STLT) Health Department Response to Public Health or Healthcare Crises; Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds; Drinking Water State Revolving Fund; and Epidemiology and Laboratory Capacity for Infectious Diseases, for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2024, found:

 

• • proper recording and reporting of all transactions, in all material respects, in the Commonwealth’s accounting and financial reporting system, Health’s accounting and financial reporting system, and supplemental information and attachments submitted to the Department of Accounts (Accounts), after adjustment for the misstatement noted in the finding titled “Strengthen Controls over Financial Reporting;”

 

• • two matters involving internal control and its operation necessary to bring to management’s attention, one of which is considered a significant deficiency and one that is considered a material weakness;

 

• • nine matters involving internal control and its operation necessary to bring to management’s attention that also represent instances of noncompliance with applicable laws and regulations or other matters that are required to be reported; and

 

• • adequate corrective action with respect to two prior audit findings and recommendations identified as complete in the Findings Summary included in the Appendix.

 

In the section titled “Internal Control and Compliance Findings and Recommendations,” we have included our assessment of the conditions and causes resulting in the internal control and compliance findings identified through our audit as well as recommendations for addressing those findings.  Our assessment does not remove management’s responsibility to perform a thorough assessment of the conditions and causes of the findings and develop and appropriately implement adequate corrective actions to resolve the findings as required by Accounts in Topic 10205 – Agency Response to APA Audit of the Commonwealth Accounting Policies and Procedures Manual.  Those corrective actions may include additional items beyond our recommendations.

 

Health is one of several entities cited in a risk alert in Accounts fiscal year 2024 audit report.  The “Financial Reporting” risk alert identifies the increased risk that the Commonwealth may not meet the deadline for the Annual Comprehensive Financial Report, which could jeopardize the Commonwealth’s bond rating, because multiple entities have increasingly submitted inaccurate and late financial information to Accounts over the past several fiscal years.  As an entity that is contributing to this increased risk for the Commonwealth, Health’s corrective action to correct the issues in the finding titled “Strengthen Controls over Financial Reporting” is essential to reducing the risk to the Commonwealth.

 

Additionally, our report includes one risk alert that requires the action and cooperation of Health’s management and the Virginia Information Technologies Agency (VITA) regarding risks related to unpatched software.

 

In fiscal year 2023, we included the results of our audit over Health in the report titled "Agencies of the Secretary of Health and Human Resources For the Year Ended June 30, 2023."