Review of the Puerto Rico's Treasury Department Escheated Warrants for the Period July 1, 1986 Through June 30, 1993

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:

This final audit report points out that after repeated audit recommendations, follow-ups, and meetings with Puerto Rico officials, Puerto Rico has yet to implement adequate procedures whereby Federal programs receive appropriate, timely credit for the Federal share of uncashed canceled checks. During this review, we found that Federal programs have not received credit for their share of such checks which exceeded $55.2 million. Because records were missing or could not be located, we were unable to determine the exact amount due Federal programs, but it is significant. Accordingly, we recommended that Puerto Rico implement, in cooperation with the Department of Health and Human Services' Division of Audit Resolution, an alternate estimation procedure to determine the Federal portion and return that amount to the Federal Government. We also made recommendations designed to improve future performance.