An audit into the state of Oregon’s 2016 financial statements found $690 million in accounting errors.
That figure includes proposed adjustments to correct the errors and is up from the results of last fiscal year’s audit.
The report, released Thursday by Secretary of State Dennis Richardson’s office, is required annually to track how Oregon spends its approximately $11.5 billion in federal assistance.
Oregon’s Medicaid program makes up the bulk of that spending, accounting for 88 percent of federally audited expenditures.
The state spent the smallest amount of federal dollars on schools and roads, vocational rehabilitation and child care development, according to the audit.
“These audits provide assurance on the fair presentation of the state’s financial statements as well as its compliance with federal funding rules,” said Richardson in a statement. “This information helps legislators in their deliberations, analysis, and decision-making, as well as identifying areas for improving state accounting and financial reporting practices.”
State Medicaid programs are the largest federal programs for most states. And while federal spending on Medicaid has increased over time, Oregon’s expenditures on the program have remained steady.
The audit also issues recommendations if it finds noncompliance regarding how federal funds are used. The report didn’t find any problems with internal controls over Medicaid spending.
However, the audit did find noncompliance with federal requirements for items such as allowable costs for the state’s foster care program and child care and development fund.
“While the state has made some progress on resolving past issues of non-compliance with federal Medicaid requirements, there is still more work to be done,” said Richardson.
Oregon is required to submit a corrective plan of action to the federal granting agency as a result of the audit’s findings. According to the report, many findings remain uncorrected year after year because agencies fail to correct underlying issues.
This story was updated.
Copyright 2017 Oregon Public Broadcasting