[StBernard] State selects accounting firms for oversight of federal recovery dollars

[Westley Annis]

State selects accounting firms for oversight of federal recovery dollars 

After a thorough search process, the Division of Administration announced
today that it has named Deloitte & Touche, LLP, one of the big four
accounting firms, to provide expert oversight of Louisiana's receipt and
disbursement of FEMA recovery funds.  The division selected the firm of UHY,
LLP, a nationally licensed firm, to provide review of the processes and
procedures established by Deloitte and additional assistance in the area of
fraud detection, investigation, and mitigation.

"We need to insure that people everywhere understand our total commitment to
honesty and integrity in this process and our absolute determination to
strictly follow federal guidelines and policies to rule out possible
repayment issues sometime in the future," said Commissioner Jerry Luke
Leblanc on the selection of the firms. 

Deloitte, as the State's outside oversight expert, will provide assurance
that all federal funds are expended with proper documentation and support
materials. Federal policy in recovery funding calls for proper documentary
support in the spending process. Recovery expenditures made without
documentation can be disallowed by post recovery auditing, leaving the state
with the obligation to repay those funds to the federal government.
 
Deloitte will report to the Division of Administration and the Louisiana
Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness. The firm will work
in a way that complements the work of the Inspector General and Legislative
Auditor but does not overlap their work. 

Deloitte and UHY will work in tandem to detect and deter fraud and
misconduct in the expenditure of federal dollars.

Although contracts for accounting services do not require the use of a
competitive process, the Division of Administration imposed a stricter than
necessary standard for the selection.  The Solicitation for Offers was
issued on September 29th with a deadline of October 6th.  Six offers were
received and evaluated by a team of five persons, including the president
and chief executive officer of the American Institute of Certified Public
Accountants, the chief inspector general of the State of Florida, and the
former president of the Government Finance Officers Association.

The New Orleans office of Deloitte submitted a proposal to provide services
citing its extensive experience in other disaster recovery efforts. Deloitte
has been involved in accounting work after several Florida hurricanes,
damage claims after 9/11 in New York City, and has worked for the California
Earthquake Authority.

UHY will provide oversight of financial fraud, corruption and criminal
activity detected in the recovery process and will also act as a monitor of
Deloitte. In its proposal, UHY cited the extensive backgrounds of two of its
managing directors in areas of criminal activity and fraud detection and its
history involving disaster recovery, including that of integrity monitors
for New York City after 9/11.

The accounting services will begin upon final negotiation of contract terms.

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The Louisiana Disaster Recovery Foundation (LDRF), Louisiana's fund for
Louisiana's people, has been established by Governor Kathleen Babineaux
Blanco in order to support long-term family restoration and recovery and
help provide assistance to our citizens in need through a network of
Louisiana charities and non-profit agencies. 

1-877-HELPLA1 (877-435-7521) www.louisianahelp.org