CHARLESTON, W.Va. — All state agencies that are subject to a statewide audit made a first deadline this year.
The audit has been in the spotlight because West Virginia has missed its overall deadline three years in a row. This year that created repercussions for the higher education system, which was sanctioned by the U.S. Department of Education.
In this case, agencies faced a deadline of this past Friday, Sept. 15, for audit drafts. Agencies that have external accounting firms prepare their audits are subject to that deadline and are supposed to submit drafts to the Department of Administration.
MORE: See the draft audit checklist
“Since we have received the documentation from the agencies, the Department of Administration’s next steps are to review the audits and closing book forms to ensure accuracy and completeness,” stated Diane Holley-Brown, spokeswoman for the Department of Administration.
“There is a great amount of communication between the Department and the agencies that occurs during this review process to get the documentation in final form.”
The next deadline is October 15, 2017, for the final audits for the audited agencies, with the deadline of October 31, 2017, for higher education.
“As you can see, we have already received several of the final audits already,” Holley-Brown said.
The Department of Administration oversees two more types of financial oversight that take place under different circumstances.
The second is unaudited internal service funds. There are only four in that category.
The third is unaudited agencies that provide Administration with their closing book forms, not draft audits.
The audits came under particular scrutiny earlier this year after the revelation that the U.S. Department of Education would institute penalties for West Virginia’s colleges and universities over missed audit deadlines.
That caused Gov. Jim Justice’s administration to issue a statement saying heads would roll over the missed deadlines. And the administration said it would investigate the ongoing problem as well as step up to make sure deadlines are hit for the coming year.