audit report findings and recommendations

December 2013 Report No. F-1213BPR-035

Department of Business and Professional Regulation OFFICE OF INSPECTOR GENERAL

Follow-up Review of the

Audit of the Division of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco Bureau of Law Enforcement – Enforcement Management

(Report Number A-1112BPR-011)

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Section 20.055, Florida Statutes, and internal auditing standards require that we monitor and report to the agency head on the status of actions taken by management to correct deficiencies noted in internal audits. Accordingly, we undertook a follow-up review to evaluate the status of corrective action taken to address the findings and recommendations made in Audit Report A-1112BPR-011, Audit of the Division of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco, Bureau of Law Enforcement – Enforcement Management (released June 15, 2012).

AUDIT REPORT FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS Our initial audit of enforcement management within the Bureau of Law Enforcement (Bureau or BLE) found that supervisors could not properly account for the activities of enforcement staff or the existence of documentation for reported agent activity. The results of audit testing found that 59% of agent inspection activity was not evidenced by supporting documentation in OnBase, the department’s document management system. The volume of unsupported inspection activity impacted our ability to provide assurance that reported enforcement activities had occurred. We also found lack of uniformity in inspection reports and inconsistencies in enforcement management and supervision throughout the state. We recommended that Bureau management and staff ensure reported alcohol and tobacco inspection and survey data is timely, accurate, and complete. We also recommended that Bureau management and staff ensure all essential elements of enforcement activities are fully evidenced, and performed consistently throughout the state; improve direct supervisory practices to account for agent activities; and enhance controls to provide assurance that agent activities are performed and timely reported.

STATUS OF CORRECTIVE ACTION Since publication of our audit in June 2012, Bureau management has taken a number of steps to address deficiencies noted in the audit report. These include:

• Management direction to improve compliance with BLE policies for documenting enforcement activities

• Introduction of an Inspection Checklist • Use of Daily Activity Sheets • Institution of Captain Self-Inspection Checklists • Establishment of an Accountability Officer Position • Implementation of ABSTAT

Our review of these initiatives is provided below.


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Documentation of Enforcement Activity BLE Policy 1.08 (as revised effective February 1, 2011) requires authorized employees to use OnBase to electronically store Bureau records, including approved investigative reports and supporting documents, official notices, administrative cases, and inspections.1 Records must be scanned into OnBase in a timely manner. The policy further provides that the district supervisor will monitor the progress and backlog of documentation entered into the system. Our audit found that documentation of agent activity was not timely entered into OnBase. As part of our audit testing we reviewed 381 inspections completed in Fiscal Year 2011-12. Supporting documentation was not in OnBase for 225 (59%) of these inspections. Such documentation in OnBase helps provide assurance that reported activities were in fact conducted. We therefore assessed the extent to which corrective action had occurred in this area. As described below, the results of follow-up fieldwork showed that Bureau management has taken steps to achieve improved compliance with the policy’s requirements. We generated a Versa: Regulation report of Bureau enforcement activities and determined that 5,597 activities were completed during the month of September 2013. Table 1 shows the number and percent of activities completed by type of activity. Of these activities 4,529 were completed by 42 inspectors and 1,068 activities were completed by 59 agents. Table 1: Enforcement Activity Completed in September 2013

Enforcement Activity

No. Completed

Percent of Total

Alcohol Inspections 2,256 40% Tobacco Inspections 1,365 24% Investigations Complete – No Action 747 13% Official Notices 597 11% Alcohol Surveys 282 5% Investigations Complete – Criminal 191 Tobacco Surveys 93 2% Service of Administration Package 54 1% External Training 10 0% Investigation Complete – Civil Citation 2 0%

Total 5,597 100% Data Compiled by OIG To determine whether supporting documentation for these activities was present in OnBase we reviewed the activities completed by a sample of 34 (58%) of the agents and 6 (14%) of the inspectors. This sample resulted in our review of 635 (59%) of the 1,068 activities completed by agents, and 636 (14%) of the 4,529 activities completed by inspectors. Our review of the 635 enforcement activities completed by agents showed that 240 activities involved surveys. Documentation of survey activity is not scanned into OnBase due to the confidentiality of investigative aide information. For the remaining 395 activities, we determined that supporting documentation was not in OnBase for 117 of the completed activities. This number represented a noncompliance rate of 30%—nearly one-half less than the 59% rate

1 The policy specifies that OnBase is not to be used to store documentation related to ongoing investigations, confidential informants, background investigations, criminal intelligence or investigative aides.


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identified in the audit. Our review of the 636 enforcement activities completed by inspectors found 168 (26%) instances in which supporting documentation was not available in OnBase. Documentation Quality Our audit of BLE’s enforcement management found that 60% (93 of 156) agent completed inspection forms lacked elements required by policy. We reported that complete and detailed inspection forms provide the licensee with detailed information regarding the inspection and any related citations, thereby mitigating the risk to the department of complaints regarding unfair treatment or selective enforcement. During our follow-up review, we noted that the quality of supporting documentation had improved. One factor contributing to this improvement is the implementation of an inspection checklist. Form BLE-320 (effective 07/2013) provides an official record of the results of an alcohol or tobacco inspection for the licensee and includes a generic inspection checklist for staff use in conducting the inspection. Use of the inspection checklist appears to have resulted in more detailed and thorough inspections as well as consistency in how inspections are performed and results reported. Daily Activity Sheet In February 2013 the Bureau instituted use of a Daily Activity Sheet to improve direct supervisory oversight and accountability for enforcement activities. Staff use the form to provide a brief narrative about the work they have accomplished each day, and to record the number of on- and off-duty hours worked. The Daily Activity Sheet also tracks the number and type of enforcement activities completed each week. We reviewed the Daily Activity Sheets completed by 7 agents and 3 inspectors for September 2013. We noted that the level of detail captured in the forms tended to vary across District Offices and that the level of supervisory review of the data and information in the forms also varied. Nonetheless, we concluded that when used appropriately, the Daily Activity Sheet is an effective means for supervisors to hold staff accountable for their work, both on a daily basis and over time. Captain Self-Inspection Checklist Subsequent to publication of our audit, the Bureau instituted a Captain Self-Inspection Checklist. The Bureau designed the checklist to serve as a quality assurance tool for Captains to use in managing their District Offices effectively. The stated purpose of the checklist is to improve accountability and maintain standards, and to ensure consistency and uniformity of documentation within the Bureau. We reviewed all Captain Self-Inspection Checklists completed in September 2013 and concluded that the checklists are an effective control for supervision and oversight of enforcement activity. Accountability Officer In September 2013, the BLE established a Government Analyst II position within the Bureau Chief’s office. We concluded this position effectively serves as the Bureau’s Accountability Officer. BLE management reports that liaison with field personnel has improved since establishing this position and has resulted in improved quality of enforcement actions and improved compliance with departmental rules and law enforcement accreditation standards. This position supports field staff in understanding the use of Versa: Regulation and OnBase,


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resulting in improved documentation of enforcement activities. This position also provides technical support to BLE management for the ABSTAT program. ABSTAT BLE management credits implementation of the ABSTAT (Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco Statistics) program for improvements in enforcement management. Bureau management reported that ABSTAT has proven effective as follows: holds supervisors accountable for employees work product; improves productivity and overall quality of work; identifies operational strengths and weaknesses; creates an atmosphere that promotes best practices; improves overall quality of investigations; reduces data entry errors; manages personnel and resources more efficiently; increases internal and external communications and cooperation; and identifies patterns and trends more effectively. We concluded that both the establishment of an Accountability Officer and implementation of the ABTSTAT program have strengthened controls over BLE’s management of enforcement activity.

OIG ASSESSMENT

Results of our follow-up review show that Bureau of Law Enforcement management has taken substantive action to address deficiencies noted in the June 2012 audit of enforcement management. The Bureau has established sufficient complementary internal controls that if used effectively, will continue to improve management of the Bureau’s enforcement activities. We therefore concluded that further monitoring by this Office is not required and recommend that all audit findings and recommendations be closed.

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