Florida Auditor General Issues Report on Florida Retirement System and Retiree Health Insurance Subsidy Program

TALLAHASSEE, Florida, Sept. 8 (TNSRep) -- The Florida Auditor General released the following report (No. 2023-015) on Sept. 2, 2022, entitled "Florida Retirement System and Retiree Health Insurance Subsidy Program Cost-Sharing Multiple Employer Defined Benefit Pension Plans Deferred Outflows for Contributions Subsequent to the June 30, 2020, Measurement Date by Employer":

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Here are excerpts:

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To: The President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the Legislative Auditing Committee

INDEPENDENT AUDITOR'S REPORT

We have examined management's assertion that the accompanying schedules of deferred outflows for contributions subsequent to the June 30, 2021, measurement date by employer of the Florida Retirement System Pension Plan defined benefit plan and the Retiree Health Insurance Subsidy Program defined benefit plan, collectively referred to as the System Pension Plans, as of and for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2022, are presented in accordance with applicable Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) statements and applicable provisions of State law. System Pension Plans management is responsible for the assertion. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the schedules based on our examination.

Our examination was conducted in accordance with attestation standards established by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the standards applicable to attestation engagements contained in Government Auditing Standards issued by the Comptroller General of the United States. Those standards require that we plan and perform the examination to obtain reasonable assurance about whether management's accompanying schedules of deferred outflows for contributions subsequent to the June 30, 2021, measurement date by employer are presented in accordance with applicable GASB statements and applicable provisions of State law, in all material respects.

An examination involves performing procedures to obtain evidence about the schedules of deferred outflows for contributions subsequent to the June 30, 2021, measurement date by employer. The nature, timing, and extent of the procedures selected depend on our judgment, including an assessment of the risks of material misstatement of the schedules of deferred outflows for contributions subsequent to the June 30, 2021, measurement date by employer, whether due to fraud or error. We believe that the evidence we obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.

We are required to be independent and to meet other ethical responsibilities in accordance with relevant ethical requirements relating to our examination engagement.

In our opinion, the schedules referred to above are presented in accordance with applicable GASB statements and applicable provisions of State law, in all material respects.

In accordance with Government Auditing Standards, we are required to report all deficiencies that are considered to be significant deficiencies or material weaknesses/1 in internal control; fraud and noncompliance with provisions of laws or regulations that have a material effect on the schedules of deferred outflows for contributions subsequent to the June 30, 2021, measurement date by employer; waste or abuse that has a material effect on the subject matter; and any other instances that warrant the attention of those charged with governance. We are also required to obtain and report the views of responsible officials concerning the findings, conclusions, and recommendations, as well as any planned corrective actions. We performed our examination to express an opinion on the schedules and not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the internal control over the System Pension Plans or on compliance and other matters; accordingly, we express no such opinion. Because of its limited purpose, our examination would not necessarily identify all deficiencies in internal control that might be significant deficiencies or material weaknesses. Given these limitations, during our examination we did not identify any deficiencies that we considered to be material weaknesses. However, material weaknesses may exist that have not been identified. In addition, our examination disclosed no instances of noncompliance or other matters that are required to be reported under Government Auditing Standards.

Pursuant to Section 11.45(4)(c), Florida Statutes, this report is a public record and its distribution is not limited. Attestation standards established by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants require us to indicate that this report is intended solely for the information and use of the System Pension Plans management and employers participating in the System Pension Plans and their auditors and is not intended to be and should not be used by anyone other than the specified parties.

Respectfully submitted,

Sherrill F. Norman, CPA

Tallahassee, Florida

September 2, 2022

Audit Report No. 2023-015

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1/ A significant deficiency is a deficiency, or a combination of deficiencies, in internal control that is less severe than a material weakness, yet important enough to merit attention by those charged with governance. A material weakness is a deficiency, or combination of deficiencies, in internal control such that there is a reasonable possibility that material noncompliance will not be prevented, or detected and corrected, on a timely basis.

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The report is posted at https://flauditor.gov/pages/pdf_files/2023-015.pdf