Pinelands Commission accepts delayed FY2022 audit, staff outlines corrective actions

The Pinelands Commission voted to accept the fiscal year 2022 audit report issued by the state auditor and discussed corrective steps to address two findings.

Executive Director (S8) told commissioners the audit covered an extended period and included two findings: one related to financial controls and adjustments needed during the audit, and another related to lack of formal written policies for information security, risk assessment and segregation of duties concerning accounting software. Staff described a corrective plan that includes issuing an RFQ for a new outside accounting firm to assist with audit preparation, hiring a business assistant to strengthen day‑to‑day bookkeeping, and preparing and posting formal internal policies (user access, risk assessment, segregation of duties).

S8 said the commission has already prepared many of those policies and expects the next audit to be performed remotely due to current staff space needs. Commissioners acknowledged the difficulty and delays tied in part to the COVID‑era constraints that slowed the state auditor’s work. The commission approved the resolution to accept the audit by voice vote; staff will continue implementing corrective measures and report progress to the commission.