Baton Rouge – In the most recent audit report prepared by the Legislative Auditor, the Department of Health has only one audit finding. The audit reviewed all LDH offices except its facilities (mental hospitals and developmental centers) and the Office of Public Health.

This is the fewest number of findings in the history of the department. When the Foster Administration began in 1996, LDH had 18 findings of faulty internal controls and financial oversight. The most recent report validates the agency’s efforts to continuously improve these management controls. Additionally, the agency has eliminated all repeat findings. The chart below tracks the year-by-year progress as documented by the Legislative Auditor. 

LDH AUDIT HISTORY
Year
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003		 Findings
21
13
18
12
8
6
5
4
5
1

"Our goal has been to eliminate all findings by the Legislative Auditor," said David W. Hood, LDH Secretary. "But, in an agency with more than 12,000 employees and a budget in excess of $5 billion, this is extremely difficult.

"Nonetheless, I am pleased by this year’s report, and am confident that the department has instituted the proper management and financial controls that will maintain these results in future years," Hood said.

There was only one minor new finding for this LDH audit. The auditors also noted that the department had corrected the five previous findings from 2002.

"This is also the first year in which we have not had any repeat findings," added Hood. "This demonstrates that the corrective actions that we’ve made have worked. It is a testament to our staff that not only have they found ways to correct problems, but they have applied this diligence to all other programs administered by the department."

The full report will not be released by the Legislative Auditor until Monday, Jan. 12, and is not considered a public document until then.