NASHVILLE - A new state comptroller audit says Tennessee government "lacks effective oversight" for billions of dollars in contracts with vendors, consultants and other groups.
Comptroller Justin Wilson said the Department of Finance and Administration has a rule requiring monitoring of contracts but has largely left the matter up to individual state agencies and departments.
The audit recommends finance officials set up an effective oversight process.
The Finance Department is supposed to routinely demand that a monitoring plan be submitted from each department or agency contracting with a non-government group to run a program or a vendor selling goods and services to the state. Finance officials then verify the state agency's information and determine if policy is being followed.
The Finance Department also is supposed to verify that contractors took corrective action steps to address any problems. Department officials did not do that in fiscal year 2009, the audit says.