Reaction And Response To An Audit Report

Michigan Office of the
Auditor General
Thomas H. McTavish, C.P.A.
Auditor General

Reaction And Response To An Audit Report

The requirements for following up audit findings and recommendations for executive branch departments and subunits, excluding community mental health services boards established through the Department of Community Health, are statutorily and administratively provided by Section 18.1462 of the Michigan Compiled Laws and by the Department of Management and Budget (DMB) Administrative Guide procedure 1280.02, respectively, and require the department to develop a formal response to OAG audit findings and recommendations. This follow-up is in addition to the agency's preliminary response which is included in each OAG audit report.

Audited agencies must submit a formal response covering all audit findings and recommendations to the director of the DMB Office of Financial Management, within 60 days after release of the audit, along with a response summary sheet containing:

action completed
recommendations to be complied with
contested findings and recommendations

Copies are also sent to the DMB Budget Office as well as to the OAG.

Each response must state the agency's agreement or disagreement with the findings and recommendations. If in agreement, the response is to:

state the actions taken to address the findings and recommendations and when each action was completed, or
state what actions will be taken to address the findings and recommendations and when such actions will be completed

If the audited entity is contesting audit findings or recommendations, the entity notes the specific area of disagreement and reason(s) for disagreement.

When the OAG performs an audit for a community college, the annual appropriations acts require the principal executive officer of the audited institution to submit a written response to the audit to the Senate and House Appropriations Committees, the Senate and House Fiscal Agencies, the Department of Education, the OAG, and DMB. The response is also due within 60 days after the audit report has been issued and should specify the action taken by the institution regarding the audit report's recommendations.