Corporation Commission Responds to State Audit

garyjones

A recently-completed state audit of the Oklahoma Corporation Commission’s internal accounting system suggests it could be vulnerable to embezzlement. But a spokesman indicates that the agency is already at work on making the improvements as recommended by State Auditor and Inspector Gary Jones, according to a report in the Journal Record.

The audit did not discover wrongdoing in the accounting system, but it did find the system lacked adequate internal controls to prevent embezzlement.

Corporation Commission spokesman Matt Skinner said millions of dollars in payments are processed weekly.

“The surety department’s procedures ensure all the accounts add up properly,” he told he Journal Record, “but there’s no way to tell if payments were manipulated and sent to other accounts.”

He explained the agency’s Finance Director Holly George has begun work on implementing the accounting procedures that the audit recommended. The agency is also switching to a new accounting software system.

The internal audits of the Commission were started after a 2009 audit of the Commissioners of the Land Office revealed the embezzlement of $1.16 million over five years by a longtime employee.