Audit shows FloridaCommerce staff had access to confidential information, IT systems without being screened

A new audit zinged the Florida Department of Commerce (FloridaCommerce) and the now-shuttered Enterprise Florida for its oversight of employees who had access to confidential business information and department IT systems.

Some of the findings in the latest audit from the Office of Auditor General had been cited in previous audits, which prompted auditors to look at those areas again.

One of the current findings — which covered operations between 2020 and 2022 — showed that both FloridaCommerce employees and those working for an independent third-party did not go through criminal background screenings before they were granted access to information from businesses seeking incentives. FloridaCommerce was formerly known as the Department of Economic Opportunity. The name change occurred last year.

Auditors also found a lag in when the employees left FloridaCommerce and when their state purchasing cards were terminated. One employee who left in November 2021 did not have their purchasing card deactivated until July 2022 or 241 days later.

The audit also found that former employees did not get cut off quickly from having access to the state’s accounting system that tracks financial transactions and that there were a handful of employees who had left the department who still had access at the time auditors checked the records.

State law requires the Florida Auditor General conduct an operational audit of each state agency on a periodic basis.

Auditors initially wrapped up their look at FloridaCommerce last year, but the report was not issued until this month. It included a response from Alex Kelly, the current head of FloridaCommerce, who maintained that all the findings found by auditors had been flagged. He said the Department had updated its policies or already had policies in place designed to prevent the problems from happening again.