DAS reports stronger statewide internal-audit compliance but flags gaps in external assessments

The Joint Committee on Legislative Audits heard an informational presentation Feb. 3 from the Oregon Department of Administrative Services on the agency's 2023'24 report on statewide internal audit activities. Department officials said agency compliance with internal-audit rules and staffing levels have improved, but gaps remain in required external quality assessments and in how exemptions are handled.

Malia Masiba, legislative director for the Department of Administrative Services, introduced Eli Ritchie, the department's chief audit executive and statewide internal-audit coordinator, who presented the report and answered committee questions.

Ritchie told the committee that "this is the strongest performance that we've ever had, at least in that time," referring to agency compliance and staffing since DAS began reporting on internal-audit activities. He said 34 agencies met the statute's eligibility criteria for establishing an internal-audit function; of those, 29 have established functions and five have exemptions. Ritchie said the exemption process and some long-standing exemptions are areas he is working to clarify and address with affected agencies.

Ritchie described the statutory and rule framework governing internal audit in state government, telling the committee that the statute (referred to in the presentation as "184.36") requires DAS to adopt rules,…