| Financial Audit Division | March 2024 |
The Minnesota Board of Firefighter Training and Education (MBFTE) generally did not comply with the significant finance-related legal requirements we tested and generally did not have adequate internal controls. We identified a number of instances of noncompliance and internal control weakness. The more significant weaknesses were in the areas of receipts, and training and aid reimbursements. We also identified some weaknesses for the Department of Public Safety (DPS). The list of findings below and the full report provide more information about these concerns.
The Minnesota Board of Firefighter Training and Education and the Department of Public Safety did not document or retain documentation of preapprovals of employee overtime hours. (p. 15)
Recommendations
The Minnesota Board of Firefighter Training and Education and the Department of Public Safety did not document employee eligibility for paid COVID-19 leave, as required by policy. (p. 17)
Recommendations
The Department of Public Safety did not require the Minnesota Board of Firefighter Training and Education state purchasing cardholders to receive refresher training or sign use agreements every three years. (p. 20)
Recommendations
The Minnesota Board of Firefighter Training and Education and the Department of Public Safety did not always comply with state policy when using state purchasing cards. (p. 21)
Recommendations
The Department of Public Safety did not have procedures in place to verify whether mileage reported on monthly travel logs was for a business purpose. (p. 23)
Recommendation
The Minnesota Board of Firefighter Training and Education did not obtain the required number of price quotes for some of its training purchases. (p. 24)
Recommendation
The Minnesota Board of Firefighter Training and Education approved reimbursements for training without documentation demonstrating that qualified instructors provided the training. (p. 31)
Recommendations
The Minnesota Board of Firefighter Training and Education did not conduct required monitoring over the use of federal money. (p. 32)
Recommendations
The Minnesota Board of Firefighter Training and Education did not provide oversight of the aid it issued to Minnesota Firefighter Initiative, Minnesota Air Rescue Team, Arrowhead Regional Urban Search and Rescue, and Task Force 1. (p. 33)
Recommendations
The Minnesota Board of Firefighter Training and Education and the Department of Public Safety did not deposit donations timely. (p. 36)
Recommendations
The Minnesota Board of Firefighter Training and Education did not separate duties for its firefighter license receipts process and did not have necessary compensating controls. (p. 37)
Recommendation
