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The Department of Audits, headed by the Auditor
General, was created within the executive branch by the Illinois
Auditing Act of 1957 (L. 1957, p. 2306). The Auditor General was
appointed by the Governor with the advice and consent of the Senate
for a term of six years. The new department was responsible for
auditing or causing to be audited, on at least a biennial basis, the
fiscal matters and financial transactions of all state agencies.
Until 1957 the Auditor of Public Accounts had been responsible for
such audits.
Copies of the audits, which were generally
performed by private accounting firms chosen by the Auditor General,
were submitted to the Governor, the Illinois Budgetary Commission,
and the Legislative Audit Commission. In even-numbered years reports
of all audits in progress or completed were submitted to the General
Assembly. In odd-numbered years the General Assembly received
summaries of all audits performed during the preceding biennium. The
Legislative Audit Commission was responsible for providing the
annual independent audit of the fiscal matters and financial
transactions of the Auditor General.
The Constitution of 1970 established the office of
the Auditor General as an agency of the legislative branch,
providing for appointment of the Auditor General by a three-fifths
vote of the General Assembly and increasing the term of office to
ten years. In 1973 the State Auditing Act was passed which served to
implement and further define the provisions of the 1970 Constitution
(P.A. 78-884, pp. 2767-2786). The Legislative Audit Commission
became responsible for approving any changes in rules or regulations
regarding audits as suggested by the Auditor General.
Financial audits continued to be required of all
state agencies at least once in every biennium unless otherwise
directed by the Legislative Audit Commission. The commission also
could instruct the Auditor General to perform management,
efficiency, program audits, or other special investigations into
specified acts or allegations of impropriety, malfeasance, or
nonfeasance in the obligation, receipt, expenditure, or use of
public funds. Copies of audit reports are filed with the Governor,
the Legislative Audit Commission, the Speaker and minority leader of
the House of Representatives, and the president and minority leader
of the Senate.
107.001
AUDIT REPORTS. 1957-1974.
100 cu. ft. No index.
Audit reports were prepared by certified public
accountants appointed by the Auditor General for all state agencies
including constitutional officers; code departments and divisions;
executive and legislative boards and commissions; state
institutions, colleges, and universities; and Supreme and appellate
courts. Each report includes name of agency audited, date of audit,
inclusive dates covered by audit, and name and address of individual
or firm conducting audit. Reports generally begin with a narrative
section commenting on findings of audit which includes an
explanation of agency's scope of activity (e.g., principal powers
and duties, history of legislation creating or affecting agency,
location of main or central office, number of divisions or other
offices maintained, number of employees), accounting procedures used
by agency, methods used to conduct audit, and statements as to
whether agency's accounts agreed or disagreed with audit findings.
Attached to narrative section are tabular
statements including agency's overall financial position, assets,
and liabilities; surplus funds; appropriations to agency,
expenditures, and unexpended balances from appropriations;
contingency appropriations and Governor's authorizations for their
expenditure; funds or investments supervised by agency; equipment
inventory; leases (with location of property leased, name of lessor,
cost of lease); names and titles of bonded officers and employees of
agency, dates surety bonds expire, amounts of bonds; and amounts and
objects of other insurance carried. Also included is correspondence
with the Governor, Legislative Audit Commission, Illinois Budgetary
Commission, and audited agencies concerning audits.
For earlier AUDIT REPORTS see RS 105.033.
These records are available at the Illinois State
Archives, Office of the Secretary of State.
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