§ 143B-216.51. Department of Health and Human Services office of the Internal Auditor; Department audits.
§ 143B‑216.51. Department of Health and Human Services office of the Internal Auditor;Department audits.
(a) To ensure that Department audits are performed in accordancewith applicable auditing standards, the Internal Auditor shall possess thefollowing qualifications:
(1) A bachelors degree from an accredited college or universitywith a major in accounting, or with a major in business which includes fivecourses in accounting, and five years' experience as an internal auditor orindependent postauditor, electronic data processing auditor, accountant, or anycombination thereof. The experience shall, at a minimum, consist of audits ofunits of government or private business enterprises operating for profit or notfor profit;
(2) A masters degree in accounting, business administration, orpublic administration from an accredited college or university and four yearsof experience as required in subdivision (1) of this subsection; or
(3) A certified public accountant license issued pursuant to lawor a certified internal audit certificate issued by the Institute of InternalAuditors or earned by examination, and four years' experience as required insubdivision (1) of this subsection.
The Internal Auditor shall, to the extent both necessary andpracticable, include on the Internal Auditor's staff individuals withelectronic data processing auditing experience.
(b) In carrying out the auditing duties and responsibilities ofthis Part, the Internal Auditor shall review and evaluate internal controlsnecessary to ensure the fiscal accountability of the Department. The InternalAuditor shall conduct financial, compliance, electronic data processing, andperformance audits of the Department and prepare audit reports of findings. Thescope and assignment of the audits shall be determined by the Internal Auditor;however, the Secretary may at any time direct the Internal Auditor to performan audit of a special program, function, or organizational unit. Theperformance of the audit shall be under the direction of the Internal Audit.
(c) Audits undertaken pursuant to this Part shall be conductedin accordance with auditing standards prescribed by the State Auditor. Allaudit reports issued by internal audit staff shall include a statement that theaudit was conducted pursuant to these standards.
(d) The Internal Auditor shall maintain, for 10 years, acomplete file of all audit reports and reports of other examinations,investigations, surveys, and reviews issued under the Internal Auditor'sauthority. Audit work papers and other evidence and related supportive materialdirectly pertaining to the work of his office shall be retained according to anagreement between the Internal Auditor and State Archives. To promotecooperation and avoid unnecessary duplication of audit effort, audit workpapers related to issued audit reports shall be, unless otherwise prohibited bylaw, made available for inspection by duly authorized representatives of theState and federal governments in connection with some matter officially before them.Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, or upon subpoena issued by aduly authorized court or court official, audit work papers shall be keptconfidential. Audit reports shall be public records to the extent that they donot include information which, under State laws, is confidential and exemptfrom Chapter 132 of the General Statutes or would compromise the securitysystems of the Department.
(e) The Internal Auditor shall submit the final report to theSecretary.
(f) The State Auditor shall review a sample of the Department'sinternal audit reports and related work papers when determined by the StateAuditor that, when conducting audits, it would be efficient to consider thework of the Internal Auditor. If the State Auditor finds deficiencies in thework of the Internal Auditor, the State Auditor shall include a statement ofthese findings in the audit report of the Department. The office of theInternal Auditor will cause to be made an external quality control review atleast once every three years by a qualified organization not affiliated withthe office of the Internal Auditor. The external quality review shoulddetermine whether the Department's internal quality control system is in placeand operating effectively to provide reasonable assurance that establishedpolicies and procedures and applicable audit standards are being followed.
(g) The Internal Auditor shall monitor the implementation of theDepartment's response to any audit of the Department conducted by the StateAuditor pursuant to law. No later than six months after the State Auditorpublishes a report of the audit of the Department, the Internal Auditor shallreport to the Secretary on the status of corrective actions taken. A copy ofthe report shall be filed with the Joint Legislative Commission on GovernmentalOperations.
(h) The Internal Auditor shall develop long‑term andannual audit plans based on the findings of periodic risk assessments. Theplan, where appropriate, should include postaudit samplings of payments and accounts.The plan shall show the individual audits to be conducted during each year andrelated resources to be devoted to the respective audits. The State Controllermay utilize audits performed by the Internal Auditor. The plan shall besubmitted to the Secretary for approval. A copy of the approved plan shall besubmitted to the State Auditor. (1997‑443, s. 12.21(c).)