Missouri State Auditor's Office - 2000-
 |
YELLOW SHEET
Office of the State Auditor of Missouri
Claire McCaskill
|
December 21, 2000
Report No. 2000-129
During fiscal
year 1995, the state began discussing the need to replace the old accounting
system (SAM) with a new integrated accounting system.� The state decided to purchase a software package from a vendor
that would be upgraded periodically.� In
addition, the State of Missouri wanted an integrated system that would
incorporate various areas such as accounting, budget, payroll, procurement,
fixed assets, leave accrual, etc.
The state issued a request for proposal to obtain
bids for a new accounting system.� In
April 1997, the state awarded the contract to American Management Systems.� On July 1, 1999, SAM II was implemented as
the state�s accounting system.
The state began
using a new accounting system (SAM II) in fiscal year 2000.� We audited the new accounting system to
determine if the controls within the new system were adequate and
effective.� Our audit noted various
concerns, as follows:
- The reporting needs of various state agencies have not been met by
the SAM II system.� Over 69 percent
of the users who responded to our survey indicated they were not satisfied
with the standard reports generated by the new SAM II system.
- We reviewed two year-end reports (the Balance Sheet report and the
Statement of Revenue and Expense report) and noted various errors that
made the reports inaccurate and unreliable.
- With the new SAM II system, state agencies are suppose to file all
supporting documentation, such as purchase orders, receiving reports, and
vendor invoices, with the Office of Administration.� However, the Office of Administration
does not ensure that state agencies file all original supporting documentation.
- Although the Office of Administration requested all state agencies
to submit an internal control plan, only three agencies had done so and
the Office of Administration did not adequately pursue the other agencies
to get their internal control plan submitted.
- Some state agency personnel were not following proper procedures
in processing interagency transactions which caused these transactions to
be recorded improperly.
- The Office of Administration did not give proper guidance to the
state agencies about system security access.
- The Office of Administration did not perform timely
reconciliations between the new SAM II system and the State Treasurer�s
records, which caused monthly financial reports to be issued late.
As part of the audit, we surveyed the state agencies
to determine if the new system satisfied their needs.� Highlights of the survey responses from state agencies are as
follows, with more detail in Appendix II, which starts on page 19.
- There appears to be widespread dissatisfaction with the standard
reports generated by the system.
- Although most state agencies are using the data warehouse, some
users indicated the data warehouse was difficult to use and the cost to
use it was too high.
- Most responses indicated the new SAM II system required more staff
time to process transactions.
We asked users to rate their level of
satisfaction with the new SAM II system and the 81 users that responded to our
survey rated the system an average of 5.7 out of a possible 10.
Complete Audit Report
Missouri State Auditor's Office
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