Comptroller Scanlon Publishes Second Annual State Loss Report
Report highlights response to FY23 report, tightening of state agency controls and standards
(HARTFORD, CT) – Comptroller Sean Scanlon today announced the publication of the Office of the State Comptroller’s (OSC) Annual Loss Report. Comptroller Scanlon instituted the annual report to bring greater transparency and understanding of lost state government property, as well as to reinforce and improve reporting standards within state agencies.
“One year after first instituting this report, several state agencies have made strong efforts to clean up inventory lists, track and recoup losses, strengthen their policies, and reinforce staff awareness of accounting and auditing guidelines,” said Comptroller Scanlon. “My office continues to work with our partner agencies to improve internal procedures and safekeep taxpayer dollars.”
State agencies are statutorily required to report to the OSC illegal, irregular, unsafe handling, or breakdowns in the safekeeping of state funds and property. As agencies experience lost or damaged assets throughout the fiscal year, they must submit a specific form to the OSC.
During Fiscal Year 2024 (FY24), state agencies reported asset losses totaling $13.16 million in original cost, which refers to the price of the assets at the time they were purchased. When adjusted to reflect the value of these assets at the time of loss, the actual loss to the state in FY24 was $1.47million. The Office of the State Comptroller believes the increase over last year’s numbers ($4.9 million original cost and $1.3 million actual cost) is due to heightened awareness resulting from the initial publication of the report.
One agency in particular, the Department of Public Health (DPH), hired a property control manager to help them bring their asset and inventory processes into compliance with statewide policies, correcting inventory discrepancies dating back to 2009. This process resulted in the proper removal of missing property worth $5.1 million in original cost and $1.3 million in current value from the DPH asset lists.
Other agencies have done similar things on a smaller scale, including taking extra steps to ensure the proper accounting and auditing of their asset list, which increased the statewide percentage of the Missing Property category this year. Additionally, this extra scrutiny led to FY24 recoveries of assets totaling $172,296.12 versus FY23 recoveries of $41,420.00. Excluding DPH because of their unique efforts this year, statewide recoveries for FY24 actually exceeded the current value of the statewide losses.
Comptroller Scanlon has notified state agency leaders of their FY24 aggregate losses. The OSC will continue to work with state agencies to ensure loss forms are completed and updated as needed. Proper reporting will lead to increased accuracy in determining the fiscal impact to the state.
The full report can be found here.
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