State Agency Audits

The State Agency Audits section of the Division of State Audit conducts financial and compliance audits and performance audits of state departments, agencies, and institutions. These audits are conducted in accordance with generally accepted government auditing standards.

Financial and Compliance Audits 

The objectives of financial and compliance audits are to

• consider the entity’s internal control over financial reporting as a basis for the design of auditing procedures to express an opinion on the financial statements;
• determine compliance with certain provisions of laws, regulations, contracts, and grant agreements;
• determine the fairness of the presentation of the financial statements; and
• recommend appropriate actions to correct deficiencies.

A major component of the financial and compliance audits is the Single Audit of the State of Tennessee, which is performed each year. This audit covers the operations of the state as a whole and is conducted in accordance with Office of Management and Budget (OMB) “Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards” (Uniform Guidance). A significant part of this project is the audit of the Tennessee Annual Comprehensive Financial Report, which covers all the state's funds and account groups, including college and university funds.

In addition to the Single Audit Report, the division issues separate audit reports on units of state government such as the Department of Treasury, state colleges and universities, the Tennessee State School Bond Authority, the Tennessee Local Development Authority, the Tennessee State Veterans' Homes Board, the Tennessee Housing Development Agency, and the Tennessee Education Lottery Corporation.

The separate audits of the departments, agencies, and institutions are not meant to serve as organization-wide audits as described in the OMB’s Uniform Guidance. Many audits do, however, serve as segments of the organization-wide audit of the State of Tennessee; therefore, they include the necessary tests for compliance with applicable laws, regulations, contracts, and grant agreements and the required consideration of the internal control structure.

Performance Audits

A performance audit is an independent examination of the extent to which agencies and departments of state government are faithfully carrying out their programs. The audit reports assist the General Assembly and state executive management by

• assessing the extent to which state agencies have fulfilled their statutory mandate and the efficiency and effectiveness of management’s organization and use of resources;
• developing recommendations for management or legislative action that might improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the agency’s operations; and
• providing pertinent program and financial data.

Most of the performance audits are conducted to comply with the Tennessee Governmental Entity Review Law, known as the Sunset Law (Section 4-29-101 et seq., Tennessee Code Annotated), which requires the Joint Government Operations Committee to review each entity at least once every eight years to determine whether the entity should be continued, restructured, or terminated.

A limited number of other performance audits are conducted based on the identification of risks in statewide processes and programs or agency-specific operations and activities.

The State Agency Audits section is led by 2 assistant directors and 14 legislative audit managers.

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