Delaware auditor's office receives high ranking

By Craig Anderson
Posted 12/3/21

DOVER — State Auditor Kathy McGuiness was mum about the ongoing official misconduct case against her Friday, but quite effusive when praising the ongoing work of her office staff.

The …

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Delaware auditor's office receives high ranking

Posted

DOVER — State Auditor Kathy McGuiness was mum about the ongoing official misconduct case against her Friday, but quite effusive when praising the ongoing work of her office staff.

The auditor’s office continues to operate efficiently, she said, and its quality of work was recognized via a No. 2 ranking on the list of top six agencies with reports on Oversight.gov.

The positive recognition comes at a time when Ms. McGuiness is facing five charges (two felonies) connected to her time in public office. She pleaded not guilty to felony theft and act of intimidation counts after being indicted in October, along with misdemeanors conflict of interest, in violation of the State Officials’ Code of Conduct; non-compliance with procurement law by structuring state payments; and official misconduct.

“We have a great, smart, talented team that’s in the office today and we are doing great things and I cannot comment on anything outside of or in relation to the case,” Ms. McGuiness said.

On its website, Oversight.gov is described as “a publicly accessible, searchable website containing the latest public reports from Federal Inspectors General who are members of the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency (CIGIE).”

According to a news release, the Delaware auditor’s office submitted 115 reports to Oversight.gov.

In a news release, National Science Foundation Office of the Inspector General spokesperson Shiji Thomas, whose organization oversees the project, said that, “Since the inception of the Oversight.gov State/Local page, the Delaware State Auditor has been one of our most active participants.

“Kathy McGuiness and her team provided critical support right from the start. Through the development and pilot phases, McGuiness’ team worked closely with the Oversight.gov team to make the page a reality.”

Among the most impactful reports completed by the auditor’s office, according to Ms. McGuiness, were the Delaware Volunteer Fire Service Special Report, findings on the potential economic impact of legalized marijuana, and a determination that the state overpaid an estimated $24.5 million to its Pharmacy Benefit Manager over three years.

Ms. McGuiness described the marijuana-related examination as “very big, not only in Delaware, but outside of Delaware.”

Regarding the annual fire report, Ms. McGuiness described it as “very popular.”

She added that, “It’s really just one that matters to (the public).

“It affects them, their community, or where they work or where they live.”

The PBM report was especially valuable, according to Ms. McGuiness, for spotlighting a supposed lack of transparency and accountability.

Also, according to the auditor, “Drug pricing, that was very popular as well, probably because most people have either taken a prescription or know someone that has or understands, ... our drug prices are going up or they’ve been exposed to it in some manner.”

Moving forward, Ms. McGuiness said, “There’s always room to improve. (Early on) my mentality was, ‘Let’s look at best practices and what other states are doing right and let’s snag some other great ideas.’

“And so they’re, even if we get to that point, they’re still going to be raised or improved because with technology and how things are going and how auditing has changed. And is different in three years from now.

“And it’s going to be different in six years from now. So we have to just be flexible, but I think there’s always opportunity to improve in anything we can do.”

Along with interns, the auditor’s office has 17 active, full-time staff members and three more will begin work within the next 30 days, Ms. McGuiness said. The office is funded to have 27 full-timers, she said, and openings remain.

“I can tell you I have an amazing team and I’m grateful to work alongside them,” she said. “We have talented, smart people in there. They’re very engaged in, really excited and love what they do.

“And it’s a great atmosphere and even with the COVID challenges, you know, again, you have to be flexible. We’re (regularly adapting) and we’re cross training and always trying to have someone be a backup. And I always say you never know, someone might say, ‘I’m moving to Hawaii.’”

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