Another state audit has uncovered more problems at the Iowa Alcoholic Beverages Division under its previous manager. According to auditors, agency records didn’t properly account for the vacation time of at least one employee.
Andy Nielson, a deputy state auditor, says the amount of vacation time originally entered into a computer system for that employee was later reported to Human Resources differently.
“The division records vacation and sick leave requests on a computer software piece. Once approved by the supervisor, the hours should not be modified,” he says. “However, four individuals had the ability to approve, edit, and delete functions — even after vacation was approved.”
Nielson says the discrepancy was discovered after a citizen complained. “There weren’t any restrictions in the software to prevent them from accessing and modifying the recorded leave,” Nielson says. “We had a concern identified by a citizen who alleged that an employee’s calendar had been altered to remove vacation used.”
According to Nielson, the agency’s new manager has tightened controls in the computer system to better track vacation time. An earlier audit detailed questionable purchases and expensive remodeling projects that former agency director Lynn Walding had approved.
The governor had considered firing Walding, but the attorney general advised against it. Walding’s term as the agency’s director expired this spring and the governor appointed someone else to the job.