The Puerto Rico State Historic Preservation Office Needs to Improve Its Accounting System

The National Park Service (NPS) provided $12.7 million to the Puerto Rico State Historic Preservation Office (PRSHPO) in fiscal year (FY) 2019 for the repair and restoration of historic sites damaged in 2017 by Hurricanes Irma and Maria. The PRSHPO received a considerably smaller amount in prior FYs—approximately $1.3 million combined for FYs 2017 and 2018. Due to the significant increase in funding in FY 2019, the NPS requested that we conduct a financial audit of the PRSHPO’s accounting system to ensure that it could properly account for the increased funding.Our audit found deficiencies in how labor expenses were recorded, tracked, and reported. We also found that the PRSHPO did not have a policy or procedures as an internal control for ensuring compliance with Federal statutes, relevant regulations, and terms and conditions of a Federal award as required by the Code of Federal Regulations.We make five recommendations to help the PRSHPO improve its accounting system. In response to our draft report, the NPS and the PRSHPO concurred with our findings and recommendations.