THE U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Aviation Administration on Wednesday informed the Commonwealth Ports Authority’s board of directors that it has accepted CPA’s preventive corrective action plan, which aims “to avoid future audit findings.”
The letter from FAA was signed by FAA Airport District Office Acting Manager Carlos H. Salas and was addressed to CPA Chairwoman Kimberlyn King-Hinds.
On July 18, 2022, CPA informed FAA of the corrective actions to resolve the single audit findings for the biennial periods 2017-2018, and 2019-2020.
King-Hinds told FAA that CPA has fully implemented corrective actions.
She said CPA hired an internal auditor, Zack Diaz, on Aug. 29, 2022 to identify and rectify potential future audit findings before an external audit is conducted.
In addition to the internal auditor, King-Hinds said CPA has also engaged its current technical consultant, Burger Comer Magliari Certified Public Accountants, for additional services.
This will serve as a “quality assurance measure for the monthly audits conducted by CPA’s internal auditor,” King-Hinds said.
“CPA is taking every preventive action necessary to ensure [that] audit findings — especially repeated audit findings — do not occur in the future,” she added. “These preventive actions include holding weekly internal meetings to raise, discuss and address any CPA-issued non-compliance reports provided in the previous week; requiring CPA staff to attend multiple annual trainings covering CPA procurement, accounting, and equipment and inventory management compliance; hiring of an internal auditor, and the continued engagement of the technical consultant,” King-Hinds told the FAA.
She said CPA can also hold regular meetings with the FAA regarding the preventive actions and their status.
King-Hinds asked FAA to “please inform CPA of the shortcomings, and those shortcomings will be addressed immediately.”
She assured the federal agency that CPA is committed to making improvements to its processes and programs and will continue to work with the FAA to evaluate and develop CPA’s systems as they move forward.
In response to King-Hinds, Salas said, “We look forward to your fiscal year 23 internal monthly audit reports for periodic review. The FAA will be monitoring to ensure the preventative corrective plans are implemented on a timely basis and are addressing the identified concerns. Your continued effort to avoid future audit findings is fully appreciated.”
On April 21, 2022, FAA Office of Compliance and Management Analysis Director Kevin Willis told CPA Executive Director Christopher Tenorio that FAA had noted a number of findings identified in the 2018 and 2020 audit reports. These included issues pertaining to equipment and real property that, Willis said, “have been ongoing since 2008.”
The 2020 single audit report stated, “CPA lacks control such as oversight responsibility and monitoring over compliance with equipment and real property management requirements.”
CPA is “in non-compliance with applicable equipment and real property management requirements,” the FAA said.
Kimberlyn King-Hinds
