§ 35-14-2. Policy.
(a) The legislature hereby finds that:
(1) Fraud and errors in state programs are more likely to occur from a lack of sufficient
internal control structures at state agencies;
(2) Effective internal control structures provide the basic foundation upon which public
accountability must be built;
(3) An entity's system of internal control structures consists of policies and procedures
designed to provide management with reasonable assurance that the agency achieves
its objectives and goals including:
(i) Reliability of financial reporting;
(ii) Compliance with applicable laws and regulations; and
(iii) Effectiveness and efficiency of operations.
(4) Internal control structures are necessarily dynamic and must be continuously evaluated
and, where necessary, improved; and
(5) Reports addressing the adequacy of the internal control structure of each state agency
are necessary to enable the executive branch, the legislature, and the public to evaluate
the agency's performance of its public responsibilities and accountability.
(b) The legislature declares that:
(1) The management of each state agency is responsible for establishing and maintaining
an adequate internal control structure and policies and procedures for financial reporting;
(2) Each state agency shall perform an assessment and produce a report on the effectiveness
of the internal control structure and procedures for financial reporting and, when
detected, weaknesses must be promptly corrected; and
(3) All levels of management of the state agencies must be involved in assessing and strengthening
the systems of internal control structures to minimize fraud, errors, abuse, and waste
of government funds.