DOVER, Del. – State Auditor Kathleen McGuiness said today that her office has remained the No. 1 ranking for state and local agencies that have uploaded reports to a website that seeks to improve transparency and accountability for federal, state and local agencies nationwide.

“Oversight.gov was created by the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency,” McGuiness explained. “The site’s goal is to consolidate all public reports from Inspectors General to a single online resource in order to improve the public’s access to independent and authoritative information about oversight efforts across the country.”

The Delaware State Auditor’s Office uploaded 188 reports out of 700 total state and local reports uploaded to Oversight.gov to-date. With millions of views per year, the website has become a popular place for people to access a variety of government-produced reports.

In 2020, McGuiness’ office was the first agency that participated in Oversight.gov’s pilot initiative for state and local governments.

“The Delaware State Auditor’s Office has remained the number-one agency ranking for over 6 months,” said McGuiness. “My team and I value transparency and accountability in government, and Oversight.gov allows us the opportunity to uphold these values by sharing all of our reports for the public to compare oversight efforts at all levels of government.”

To see the rankings on Oversight.gov, go to https://www.oversight.gov/state-local/reports.

About the Delaware State Auditor

The Delaware State Auditor serves Delawareans by providing independent objective oversight of the state government’s use of taxpayer dollars with the goal of deterring fraud, waste and abuse through unbiased assessments, including the use of various audits, special reports, and investigations of financial operations designed to ensure statutory compliance while enhancing governmental economy, efficiency and effectiveness. For more information, visit the website, and connect with the office on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, or Instagram.

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Contact:

Alaina Sewell, Chief of Staff

302-857-3931

Alaina.Sewell@delaware.gov

DOVER, Del. – State Auditor Kathy McGuiness announced today the release of a new special report detailing the Auditor’s Office’s fraud hotline.

“The Fraud Hotline is a critical resource for the public to report concerns about their state government, and it also serves as a valuable resource for identifying areas of increased risk for fraud, waste, abuse, or misuse in our state,” said Auditor McGuiness.

The Special Report, “Auditor’s Office Fraud Hotline Summary Report of Fiscal Year 2022,” reviewed recent changes improve the economy and efficiency of the hotline and the Auditor’s Office’s implementation of a continual improvement process to better serve Delawareans.

“This office is committed to improving all parts of state government, and that includes reviewing our own processes and programs to identify additional value for the public who depend on our work. I am pleased our effort to expand reporting options and improving our communication efforts are yielding more public engagement,” said Auditor McGuiness.

The Fraud Hotline saw a substantial increase in reporting in FY2021 and demonstrates the subject of public tips tend to correspond with national issues and current events. FY2021 was the period of July 1, 2020 through June 30, 2021, and the types of fraud tips received by our office mirror some of the most pertinent and discussed issues of the year.

Auditor McGuiness explains, “The Fraud Hotline received more tips in FY2021 than the prior 10 years combined, and a substantial number of those reports concerned the Department of Labor and the Office of Attorney General.” Auditor McGuiness continues to say, “These tips paralleled national and local discussions over criminal justice issues and concerns with Unemployment Insurance.”

The Fraud Hotline is a critical resource for the public to have their voice heard and address their concerns, but it also serves a practical purpose for improving how we identify issue areas.

“Thank you to the people who bring their concerns to our attention. We take these reports very seriously, and they help shape our annual audit plan,” said Auditor McGuiness. “These reports are a critical resource for improving accountability and transparency and providing better public service in our state.”

You can find the special report, “Auditor’s Office Fraud Hotline Summary Report of Fiscal Year 2022” here.

Learn about the Delaware State Auditor’s Office at https://auditor.delaware.gov

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Contact: Tori Parker, Deputy Auditor tori.parker@delaware.gov

The Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada (GFOA) has awarded Delaware its Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting for the State’s fiscal year 2019 comprehensive annual financial report (CAFR). This is the 25th consecutive year the State has received this award, which is the highest form of recognition in the area of governmental accounting and financial reporting. Its attainment represents a significant accomplishment by a government and its management.

“To have earned this award for 25 consecutive years is both a remarkable accomplishment and a testament to the professionalism of financial personnel throughout State agencies,” said Governor John Carney. “I am proud that our Administration has continued to build upon and strengthen Delaware’s commitment to meeting the highest standards for fiscal disclosure and transparency.”

“The Department of Finance is committed to providing Delaware’s citizens, taxpayers and investors concise and accurate information about our state’s financial health,” said Secretary of Finance Rick Geisenberger. “Being recognized for a clear and thorough presentation of the state’s financial condition is the culmination of hard work throughout the year by hundreds of state financial staff and officers responsible for handling taxpayer funds with diligence and integrity.”

“The Division of Accounting’s Financial Accounting and Reporting Section (FARS), along with fiscal employees throughout State agencies and school districts have proven their dedication to releasing timely and accurate reporting, as well as their commitment to continuous accountability and transparency in our state government,” said Division of Accounting Director Jane Cole.

The FY2019 CAFR was judged by an impartial panel to meet the high standards of the program, including demonstrating a constructive “spirit of full disclosure” to clearly communicate its financial story and motivate potential users and user groups to read the CAFR. The GFOA is a nonprofit professional association serving approximately 17,500 government finance professionals with offices in Chicago, IL, and Washington, D.C. Visit http://www.gfoa.org/ for more information.

The CAFR is available to the public at https://accountingfiles.delaware.gov/docs/2019cafr.pdf.

Event encourages innovation in government

State Treasurer Colleen C. Davis, along with the University of Delaware and Tableau Software, a leading visual analytics platform, hosted an event for state government and university participants today. The event promoted data gathering and governance, while sharing interactive tools and visualization opportunities through engaging use case presentations from Delaware partners and hands-on trainings for beginner and intermediate users.

“Tableau Day is a great step in making data work for the residents of our state. Walking away from this event, participants can better gather and govern data, and they can take those rows of numbers and translate data into something easy for the public to understand, and use,” said Treasurer Davis.

The event was attended more than 75 participants across more than a dozen agencies of state government and the University of Delaware participants. Tableau Day featured presentations from the Department of Services for Children, Youth and their Families (DSCYF), the University of Delaware, and the Office of the State Treasurer. Tableau led trainings for participants, and Navigator Management Software shared advice and examples of visual analytics use within public entities while promoting data governance.

In April, the Office of the State Treasurer released their interactive Available Income Calculator, created by staff using Tableau. The tool is hosted on Tableau Public, allowing other jurisdictions to use the framework and insert their own consumer data and tax information to make the tool specific to their residents. Since its release, the tool has been used more than 8,000 times.

“The success of the Available Income Calculator is a testament to the State of Delaware’s strong commitment to extending data transparency to their residents,” said Steve Spano, Regional Vice President, Public Sector at Tableau. “We’re delighted to team up with the Treasurer’s office to help other organizations around the state see and understand their data, and use visual data stories to communicate more effectively with their residents.”

Visual analytics products aim to make data useful, internally helping with measurement and decision-making, and externally providing a medium through which the complex can be made simple and readily available for residents. The University of Delaware presented on their efforts to create internal dashboards, while the DSCYF discussed the dashboards they created and have shared with the public to track and visualize data and performance of various programs overtime.

“With respect to technology, government is often viewed as being behind the private sector,” said Susan Steward, Office of the State Treasurer and a Tableau user. “But today we’ve proven that government is moving to the forefront of innovation in order to empower residents to interact with the state.”

The Delaware Department of Education is soliciting public input on the development of standardized school-level financial reporting.

Both the federal Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) and Senate Bill 172, passed by the 149th General Assembly earlier this year, require the development of a statewide approach to define and report school-level expenditures so school leaders and the public can better compare per-pupil spending across Delaware. The Department of Education (DOE) will begin reporting school-level per-pupil expenditures in December 2019.

The Department of Education will develop a standardized approach with input from district/charter leaders and other community members. To that end, three public meetings are scheduled for this fall so DOE can share its vision and hear from members of the public. See information below. Public comment will be limited to five minutes per person; DOE will accept written comments at any of the meetings or via email by Friday, October 12th to jennifer.roussell@doe.k12.de.us with SB 172 Public Comment in the subject line.

Once developed, DOE also will host annual optional training sessions for school boards/citizen budget oversight committees, district/charter leaders and the general public on how to understand and use the data to make decisions in the best interest of our students.

Kent County
5 to 7 p.m., Monday, October 1
2nd floor Cabinet Room, Townsend Building
401 Federal Street, Dover

New Castle County
6 to 8 p.m., Wednesday, October 3
Route 9 Library & Innovation Center
3022 New Castle Avenue, New Castle

Sussex County
5 to 7 p.m., Thursday, October 11
Lewes Public Library
111 Adams Avenue, Lewes

Media Contact: Alison May, alison.may@doe.k12.de.us, 302-735-4006