P.R. Laws tit. 3, § 146f
(a) The Auditing Committee of the Department of Education, hereinafter the “Committee”, is hereby created for purposes of evaluating the administrative and fiscal operation of the Department, the internal control systems to prevent the commission of irregularities, the monitoring of auditing programs used to improve the systems and operations of the Department, and to corroborate the compliance of the Department with the applicable laws and regulations.
The Committee shall act with complete independence from the Secretary and the Department of Education. The Committee shall hold its first meeting within sixty (60) days after the confirmation of all its members. The Committee shall create regulations to govern its operations, which shall be approved within sixty (60) days after the first meeting is held and shall be based upon the recommendations and guidelines of the Office of the Comptroller of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and the Office of the U.S. Inspector General.
(b) The Committee shall be composed of five (5) members with right to vote, which shall be appointed by the Governor with the advice and consent of the Senate of Puerto Rico. The initial appointments shall be as follows: three (3) of the members shall be appointed for five (5) years; one (1) member shall be appointed for four (4) years, and one (1) member shall be appointed for three (3) years. The Chairperson of the Committee shall be appointed by the Governor with the advice and consent of the Senate of Puerto Rico, and his/her term shall be for five (5) years.
The members shall have as a minimum requirement a bachelor’s degree from a higher education institution recognized by the Council on Higher Education. At least two (2) of the members shall be bona fide certified public accountants. Also, the members shall have at least five (5) years of experience in the field of auditing. Two (2) of the members shall have three (3) years of experience in any area related to auditing. No Committee members shall be reappointed for an additional term.
Any vacancy in the Committee shall be filled by an appointment made by the Governor; Provided, That when a vacancy occurs prior to the conclusion of the term for which the person was appointed, the successor shall be appointed for the remaining portion of the term. The members shall perform their duties until their successors are appointed and take office.
(c) The Committee shall be empowered to hold meetings as frequently as it deems necessary, establishing as a minimum four (4) regular meetings per year and all special meetings it deems necessary. Said meetings shall be held by convocation issued by the Chairperson of the Committee and circulated to all the members. Three (3) members shall constitute quorum to hold the meetings. All decisions shall be approved by a majority of three (3) of the members of the Committee.
(d) The works of the Committee shall be carried out confidentially until the pertinent reports are rendered to the Governor, the Legislature and the Secretary of the Department of Education. The Committee shall be empowered to review and audit all internal procedures of the Department, but shall not participate actively in the creation or implementation of public policy, systems, procedures, preparation of records or any other administrative activity that is of exclusive competence of the Secretary. The information compiled and evaluated by the Committee by virtue of its duties shall be considered privileged and confidential. It shall not be revealed nor used for any purpose other than the pursuit of the work of the Committee. The responsibilities and duties of the Committee, among others, shall be the following:
(1) To assist the Office of Internal Auditing of the Department of Education in the performance of its supervisory responsibilities.
(2) To provide communication channels among internal and external auditors and the Secretary of the Department of Education through the holding of periodic meetings with each group of auditors and the Administration in executive sessions held separately or jointly, requesting, if necessary, that issues of importance to the Committee be stated by each of the aforementioned groups.
(3) The Committee shall be empowered to carry out or authorize investigations on those issues of competence of the Committee that are within its scope of responsibilities, and may contract independent legal advisors, accountants, auditors, experts or any other personnel necessary to assist in any investigation or in the performance of the duties of the Committee.
(4) To perform any other duty assigned by means of an act or executive order.
(5) To review annually the results of the risk handling procedures of the Department of Education submitted by the Director of the Office of Internal Auditing of said agency.
(6) To review the scope of the annual plan of the internal and external auditors regarding the handling of risks to ensure the appropriate supervision and effective use of the auditing resources.
(7) To review with the Secretary of the Department of Education and the Director of the Office of Internal Auditing any significant findings, during the year, the response of the Department to said findings and the follow-up on the previous recommendations.
(8) To consider the results of the reviews of policies, procedures and operations concerning any discretional account of the Secretary or the Department of Education.
(9) To review with the Secretary and the Director of the Office of Internal Auditing the sufficiency of the budget and the qualifications and personnel assigned to the Office of Internal Auditing.
(10) To review with the Secretary, external auditors and the Office of Internal Auditing the annual financial statements of the Department of Education and the audit reports prepared by the external auditors, communications, and the review of the results of audits performed by the Office of the U.S. Inspector General of the federal Department of Education, Office of the Comptroller of Puerto Rico, or any other regulating group.
(11) To review and update the regulations of the Committee at least every three (3) years.
(12) To recommend the designation or dismissal of the Director of the Office of Internal Auditing.
(13) To supervise the effectiveness of the internal auditors, their objectivity and independence of criteria through continued cooperation with them by reviewing the content of their reports and recommendations and the scope of any consulting services and related expenses.
(14) The Committee shall operate autonomously, and shall evaluate the transactions performed by the agency in order to make recommendations with respect to the steps to be taken pursuant to the evaluations.
(15) The Committee shall render an annual report at the end of every fiscal year to the Legislature and the Office of the Governor on all the tasks performed during the year with the final result of the evaluations made during said term, and the recommendations deemed pertinent for fiscal control and the effective accounting of the funds, property and assets of the Department of Education. It shall likewise be empowered to recommend and/or refer those actions or findings to the state or federal administrative agencies with jurisdiction over the investigated issue.
(e) The members of the Committee shall be entitled to a fixed per diem, which shall be the same as the one established by the Legislature for its own members.
History —July 15, 1999, No. 149, added as § 10.06 on Aug. 5, 2004, No. 194, § 1.