Data Analysis in theTennessee

Division of State Audit

Software Used

ACL, currently version 8 Since 1996

SAS, both mainframe and PC Since the late 1980s

Culprit, mainframe Since the beginning of time . . . uh, I

mean since we started doingdata analysis!

Why ACL?

Selected because, particularly at that time, it seemed to manage the very large data sets better than its competitors.

Why SAS?

Mainframe: Allows the use of large mainframe data sets that cannot be managed in ACL.

PC: Allows the use of data sets that cannot be managed in ACL and provides higher-level statistical analysis.

Why Culprit?

Cullinane Corporation’s EDP Auditor application. Still in use because there are routine jobs working in Culprit that would not pay to re-write. New data analysis not written in Culprit.

Data Analysis Performed

Accounting System

Summary: tie data from an extract to reporting--ensure that data file is complete

Stratification: identify outliersSamples (per auditor request) Monthly reconciliation of the

month’s accounting system records to ensure data is complete.

Accounting System

Vendor-type payments to state employees

Reasonable date valuesPayments made within required

timeValid data in the fieldsValid social security numbers

Payroll

Duplicate checks Invalid SSNsSupplemental pay calculationsOvertimeReconcile gross pay by area to

payroll expenditures in the accounting system

Payroll

Recalculate FICA and net pay

Check number sequence (gap/duplicate)

Checks over a given dollar value considered excessive

Purchasing

Test percentage of minority businesses getting contracts

Online approvals by persons with appropriate authority

Fixed asset field is appropriate based on the item's commodity code

TennCare (Medicaid)

State employees receiving TennCare

TennCare enrollees with P.O. boxes

Out-of-state enrollees Incarcerated persons receiving

TennCareAnd the list goes on . . .

Authorization Controls

From a variety of systems, we have compared security (access) listings to payroll records to test that staff with access to the system are still employed by the state (or college, or university, or agency . . . .)

WIC

Test for clients meeting program parameters

Summarize vouchers issued by staffStratify results

Lottery

Calculation of sales, liabilities, and changes in each before and after a programming error caused no repeating numbers to be drawn

Unemployment Benefits

Recalculate Benefit AmountsVoluminous DataComplex DataUse of Mainframe SAS and ACL

The Good, The Bad,and the Promising

ACL: The Good

ACL is a strong performer, and can be effectively used by audit staff with realistic training

Continually updated with new features

Very responsive to customer comments

ACL: If only . . .

It would allow users more control over data imported from CSV and Excel files.

It had “prettier” output.They hadn’t gone and messed

up the log structure (from Version 7).

SAS: The Good

Haven’t found the data it won’t handle!

Output can be formatted to look like just about anything you want.

Can perform higher-level statistics than most audit tools.

SAS: If only . . .

If only staff auditors could readily learn the base product without having to buy a front-end!

If only it weren’t quite so resource intensive!

The Promising

We are currently wading into the world of GIS in auditing.

Alternative fuel stationsDollars generated by or provided to

individual counties Individuals served by countyPossible ARRA reporting tool