19-001
Authority of Multiple Designated State Agencies to Appoint the Same Individual as Chief Internal Auditor
Cite as Ill. Op. Att'y Gen. No. 19-001
THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
STATE
OF
ILLINOIS
OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
STATE OF ILLINOIS
KWAME RAOUL
ATTORNEY GENERAL
August 9, 2019
FILE NO. 19-001
STATE MATTERS:
Authority of Multiple Designated
State Agencies to Appoint the Same
Individual as their Chief Internal Auditor
The Honorable Frank J. Mautino
Auditor General
Iles Park Plaza
740 East Ash Street
Springfield, Illinois 62703-3154
Dear Mr. Mautino:
I have your letter inquiring whether, pursuant to the Fiscal Control and Internal
Auditing Act (the Act) (30 ILCS 10/1001 et seq. (West 2018)), multiple "designated State
agencies" may appoint the same individual as their chief internal auditor through the execution
¹Subsection 1003(a) of the Act (30 ILCS 10/1003(a) (West 2018)) defines the phrase "designated
State agencies" to include "the offices of the Secretary of State, the State Comptroller, the State Treasurer, and the
Attorney General, the State Board of Education, the State colleges and universities, the Illinois Toll Highway
Authority, the Illinois Housing Development Authority, the public retirement systems, the Illinois Student
Assistance Commission, the Illinois Finance Authority, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Capital
Development Board, the Department of Military Affairs, the State Fire Marshal, and each Department of State
government created in Article 5, Section 5-15 of the Civil Administrative Code of Illinois [(see 20 ILCS 5/5-15
(West 2018))]." The Department of Insurance is among the Departments of State government created in section 5-
15 of the Civil Administrative Code.
500 South Second Street, Springfield, Illinois 62701
(217) 782-1090
TTY: (877) 844-5461
Fax: (217) 782-7046
100 West Randolph Street, Chicago, Illinois 60601
(312) 814-3000
TTY: (800) 964-3013
Fax: (312) 814-3806
601 South University Ave., Carbondale, IL 62901
(618) 529-6400
TTY: (877) 675-9339
Fax (618) 529-6416
GCC/IBT
The Honorable Frank J. Mautino - 2
of an intergovernmental agreement. If the answer to your first question is in the affirmative, you
have also inquired: what constitutes a "full-time program of internal auditing" under the Act;
and whether a designated State agency may terminate the services of a chief internal auditor who
is providing services to the agency through an intergovernmental agreement. For the reasons
stated below, it is my opinion that multiple designated State agencies may not appoint the same
individual as their chief internal auditor through the execution of an intergovernmental
agreement. Because my answer to your first question is in the negative, it is not necessary to
address the other questions you have raised.
BACKGROUND
History of State Agency Internal Audit Provisions
To assist in the development of an internal auditing program in State agencies, the
General Assembly enacted the Internal Auditing Act (1967 Ill. Laws 2938; Ill. Rev. Stat. 1967,
ch. 127, par. 136.1 et seq.), which required certain State agencies to establish internal audit
programs and specified certain internal audit staffing, reporting, planning, and performance
requirements. 2 In 1987, in response to perceived shortcomings in the internal audit function as
reflected by 96 internal audit compliance findings for 36 different State agencies over a four-year
audit period, the Legislative Audit Commission adopted a resolution (Legislative Audit
²Specifically, the Internal Auditing Act required that "[a]ll [d]epartments of State government
designated by the Governor subject to the provisions of The Civil Administrative Code of Illinois', the Secretary of
State, the Auditor of Public Accounts, the State Treasurer, the Attorney General, the Superintendent of Public
Instruction and any other State agency designated by the Governor, shall establish a program of internal auditing."
1967 III. Laws 2938-39; Ill. Rev. Stat. 1967, ch. 127, par. 1361. Public Act 83-301, effective September 14, 1983,
amended the Internal Auditing Act to require additional State agencies, including State colleges and universities, to
establish a full-time program of auditing and to require that the chief executive officer of those State agencies
appoint a chief internal auditor.
The Honorable Frank J. Mautino - 3
Commission Resolution No. 78, adopted April 9, 1987) directing the Auditor General's office to
"conduct a management audit of the policies, procedures, and practices of the State's programs of
internal auditing[.]" Auditor General, Management Audit, Illinois' State Programs of Internal
Auditing, May 1988 (1988 Audit Report), at 45. In the resulting Audit Report, former Auditor
General Robert G. Cronson concluded that "[m]ost internal audit programs [did] not comply with
the requirements of the Internal Auditing Act and internal audit coverage [was] inadequate to
achieve effective and efficient management of State agencies." 1988 Audit Report at iv. The
Audit Report also recommended specific changes to the Internal Auditing Act for the General
Assembly's consideration. See 1988 Audit Report at 41-42. Among the recommendations was
the "[e]stablish[ment] [of] an office under the Governor to provide internal audit services to
those agencies which are accountable to the Governor and which are not required to have a full-
time internal audit program[.] 1988 Audit Report at 41.
In response to the 1988 Audit Report, the General Assembly repealed the Internal
Auditing Act and replaced it with the Act. See Public Act 86-936, effective January 1, 1990; III.
Rev. Stat. 1989, ch. 15, pars. 1001 et seq.; now codified at 30 ILCS 10/1001 et seq. (West
2018). 3 Since its initial enactment, the Act has provided that "[i]t is the policy of this State that
³During the legislative debates on House Bill 2031, which as enacted became Public Act 86-936,
the House sponsor stated that the bill "modernizes the State Internal Audit Statute" and "is a collaborative effort
between the [Legislative] Audit Commission, the Governor's Office, the Department of Central Management
Service [sic] and the States Internal Audit Managers Association." Remarks of Rep. Keane, May 19, 1989, House
Debate on House Bill No. 2031, at 24.
The Honorable Frank J. Mautino - 4
the chief executive officer of every State agency¹⁴¹ is responsible for effectively and efficiently
managing the agency and establishing and maintaining an effective system of internal control."
30 ILCS 10/1002 (West 2002); 30 ILCS 10/1002 (West 2018). In addition, the Act requires
"[e]ach designated State agency * * [to] maintain a full-time program of internal auditing" (30
ILCS 10/2001 (West 2018); see generally 30 ILCS 10/2001 (West 2002)), and for "[t]he chief
executive officer of each designated State agency [to] appoint a chief internal auditor[,]" who
meets the qualifications established by the Act (30 ILCS 10/2002 (West 2002); 30 ILCS 10/2002
(West 2018)). The Act also provides that agencies which are "not designated and required to
have a full-time program of internal auditing under [the] Act" are not relieved of the
responsibility of maintaining an effective internal control system. 30 ILCS 10/2001(b) (West
2002); 30 ILCS 10/2001(b) (West 2018). The Act authorizes those agencies which do not have
full-time internal audit programs to have internal audits performed by the Department of Central
Management Services (CMS) (30 ILCS 10/2001(b) (West 2002); 30 ILCS 10/2001(b) (West
2018)). The Act also sets out the requirements for each designated State agency's internal
4 Subsection 1003(b) of the Act (30 ILCS 10/1003(b) (West 2018)) defines "State agency" to mean
the term "as defined in the Illinois State Auditing Act [30 ILCS 5/1-1 et seq. (West 2018)]," which includes:
all officers, boards, commissions and agencies created by the Constitution,
whether in the executive, legislative or judicial branch, but other than the circuit
court; all officers, departments, boards, commissions, agencies, institutions,
authorities, universities, bodies politic and corporate of the State; and
administrative units or corporate outgrowths of the State government which are
created by or pursuant to statute, other than units of local government and their
officers, school districts and boards of election commissioners; all
administrative units and corporate outgrowths of the above and as may be
created by executive order of the Governor. 30 ILCS 5/1-7 (West 2018).
The Honorable Frank J. Mautino - 5
auditing program (30 ILCS 10/2003 (West 2002); 30 ILCS 10/2003 (West 2018)), and describes
the internal fiscal and administrative controls required of all State agencies (30 ILCS 10/3001
(West 2002); 30 ILCS 10/3001 (West 2018)).
Thereafter, former Governor Rod Blagojevich issued Executive Order No. 2003-
10, on March 31, 2003, which, among other things, ordered the transfer of the internal auditing
functions and the personnel related thereto from each agency, office, division, department,
bureau, board, and commission directly responsible to the Governor to the jurisdiction of CMS.
Executive Order No. 2003-10 was issued pursuant to the authority granted by article V, section
11, of the Illinois Constitution of 1970, which provides that "[t]he Governor, by Executive
Order, may reassign functions among or reorganize executive agencies which are directly
responsible to him[,]" and the Executive Reorganization Implementation Act (the Reorganization
Act) (15 ILCS 15/1 et seq. (West 2018)), which in part authorizes the Governor to transfer
functions from one executive agency to another.
As a check on the Governor's authority to reorganize agencies and functions
under his control, the Illinois Constitution authorizes the General Assembly to consider
executive orders wherein the Governor's reassignment or reorganization would contravene State
statute. If either house of the General Assembly disapproves the executive order, then the order
shall not become effective. Ill. Const. 1970, art. V, §11. Neither house of the General Assembly
voted to disapprove Executive Order No. 2003-10.³ As a result, on October 1, 2003,
5 VI Final Legislative Synopsis and Digest of the 93rd III. Gen. Assem. (No. 15), at 4928.
The Honorable Frank J. Mautino - 6
approximately 90 internal auditors and 10 administrative staff operating out of 26 State agencies
were formally transferred and placed under the jurisdiction of CMS. The transferred personnel
were placed in an administrative unit which was known as the Illinois Office of Internal Audits 6
Seven years after Executive Order No. 2003-10 was issued, the General Assembly
superseded the consolidation of the internal audit functions under CMS. Specifically, Public Act
96-795, effective July 1, 2010, among other things,⁷ returned the chief internal auditors who
were moved into CMS to their respective agencies by adding subsection 2001(a-5) to the Act (30
ILCS 10/2001(a-5) (West 2018)). Subsequent to the enactment of Public Act 96-975, there has
been no transfer of internal audit functions from designated State agencies to CMS pursuant to
article V, section 11, of the Illinois Constitution of 1970, and/or the Reorganization Act.
Department of Insurance Audit Finding
Your inquiry arises out of an audit finding that the Department of Insurance (the
Department) received during a compliance examination conducted on your behalf for the two
years ended June 30, 2018, which was publicly released on April 18, 2019. Finding 2018-004 of
the indicated compliance examination concludes that the Department failed to adhere to the
⁶See Illinois Department of Central Management Services, Consolidation Reports, Executive
Reorganization of Internal Audit (May 11, 2005), available at https://www2.illinois.gov/cms/About/Reports/
Documents/ER_InternalAudit_05112005.pdf.
⁷Public Act 96-795 also expanded the agencies within the Act's definition of "designated State
agencies," required that each designated State agency "maintain" rather than "establish" a full-time program of
internal auditing, and provided that chief internal auditors may only be removed for cause after a hearing before the
Executive Ethics Commission. During the legislative debates on Senate Bill 51, which was enacted as Public Act
96-795, the House sponsor of the bill explained that "[t]he old internal auditors who at one time worked in all of the
agencies and were moved into [CMS] by Governor Blagojevich will be returned to their old jobs." Remarks of Rep.
Madigan, May 21, 2009, House Debate on Senate Bill No. 51, at 6.
The Honorable Frank J. Mautino - 7
provisions of the Act. See Auditor General, Illinois Department of Insurance Compliance
Examination For the Two Years Ended June 30, 2018 (2018 Audit Report), Finding 2018-004,
pages 19-23. Specifically, the finding notes that the Act requires each designated State agency to
maintain a full-time program of internal auditing (2018 Audit Report at 19) and that the
Department, as a designated State agency, "has not appointed an individual to fill the
Department's chief internal auditor position[,] * * * [and] did not obtain the Governor's approval
for CMS to provide professional internal auditing services to the Department." 2018 Audit
Report at 20. Notably, the audit report states that on January 15, 2018, the Department entered
into an intergovernmental agreement with CMS' Bureau of Internal Audit for CMS to provide
internal auditing services to the Department. 2018 Audit Report at 19. The audit report further
indicates that the CMS chief internal auditor is also acting as the chief internal auditor for eight
designated State agencies, including the Departments of Agriculture, Corrections, Financial and
Professional Regulation, Human Rights, Insurance, Labor, and the Illinois Finance Authority, in
addition to CMS. 2018 Audit Report at 19. Finding 2018-004 concludes that the consolidation
of internal audit functions by designated State agencies entering into an "intergovernmental
agreement under which CMS' Chief Internal Auditor acts as the Chief Internal Auditor for the
Department * * [does not] meet ] the requirements of the * Act[.]" 2018 Audit Report at
23.
ANALYSIS
It is well established that administrative agencies such as the Department and
CMS possess only those powers that are expressly granted to them by statute, together with those
The Honorable Frank J. Mautino - 8
powers which may be necessarily implied therefrom to effectuate the powers which have been
expressly granted. Vuagniaux V. Department of Professional Regulation, 208 III. 2d 173, 186-
88, 802 N.E.2d 1156, 1164-65 (2003). The intergovernmental agreement between the
Department and CMS states that it was entered into pursuant to the Intergovernmental
Cooperation Act (5 ILCS 220/1 et seq. (West 2016)) and in accordance with section 5-655 of the
Civil Administrative Code of Illinois (20 ILCS 5/5-655 (West 2016)). 8 Intergovernmental
Agreement Regarding Provision of Internal Auditing Functions, Illinois Department of Central
Management Services-Illinois Department of Insurance, December 11, 2017 (amended
December 7, 2018), at 1. While section 3 of the Intergovernmental Cooperation Act (5 ILCS
220/3 (West 2018)) grants State agencies the authority to, among other things, contract and
associate together to undertake governmental activities and to combine resources so that they
may more efficiently perform their governmental functions (1991 Ill. Att'y Gen. Op. 216, 219), 9
the authority to cooperate intergovernmentally cannot authorize an agreement which would
contravene statutory prohibitions or limitations that apply to the contracting parties. Ill. Att'y
Gen. Op. No. 05-010, issued December 16, 2005, at 31, citing 1991 III. Att'y Gen. Op. 158, 161;
1976 Ill. Att'y Gen. Op. 51, 53. Thus, it is necessary to review the Act and other pertinent
⁸Section 5-655 of the Civil Administrative Code of Illinois provides that "directors of departments
*** shall devise a practical and working basis for co-operation and co-ordination of work, eliminating duplication
and overlapping of functions."
Section 3 of the Intergovernmental Cooperation Act provides that "[a]ny power or powers,
privileges, functions, or authority exercised or which may be exercised by a public agency of this State may be
exercised, combined, transferred, and enjoyed jointly with any other public agency of this State[.]" The
Intergovernmental Cooperation Act includes "any agency of the State government" within its definition of "public
agency." 5 ILCS 220/2 (West 2018).
The Honorable Frank J. Mautino - 9
statutory provisions to determine the extent of the Department's and CMS' authority to share
internal audit functions.
The Act
Section 2001 of the Act (30 ILCS 10/2001 (West 2018)) directs State agencies
with respect to the maintenance of an internal auditing program and provides, in pertinent part:
(a) Each designated State agency as defined in Section
1003(a) shall maintain a full-time program of internal auditing. In
the event that a designated State agency is merged, abolished,
reorganized, or renamed, the successor State agency shall also be a
designated State agency.
(a-5) Within 30 days after the effective date of this
amendatory Act of the 96th General Assembly, each chief internal
auditor transferred under Executive Order 2003-10 to the
Department of Central Management Services shall be transferred
to the auditor's designated State agency, and if an auditor does not
have a designated State agency or has more than one designated
State agency, then the chief executive officer of a State agency
shall appoint such person as the chief internal auditor of a State
agency.
***
(b) The chief executive officer of a State agency is not
relieved from the responsibility for maintaining an effective
internal control system merely because that State agency is not
designated and required to have a full-time program of internal
auditing under this Act. Agencies which do not have full-time
internal audit programs may have internal audits performed by the
Department of Central Management Services. (Emphasis added.)
Subsection 2002(a) of the Act (30 ILCS 10/2002(a) (West 2018)) addresses the
appointment of a chief internal auditor and provides:
(a) The chief executive officer of each designated State
agency shall appoint a chief internal auditor[.] (Emphasis added.)
The Honorable Frank J. Mautino - 10
Upon appointment, a chief internal auditor reports directly to the chief executive officer of the
agency (30 ILCS 10/2002(b) (West 2018)), serves a 5-year term beginning on the date of
appointment, and may only be removed for cause after a hearing before the Executive Ethics
Commission. 30 ILCS 10/2002(c) (West 2018).
Where statutory language is clear and unambiguous it must be given effect as
written. Klaine V. Southern Illinois Hospital Services, 2016 IL 118217, 14, 47 N.E.3d 966, 970
(2016). Further, a statute should be evaluated as a whole; each provision should be construed in
connection with every other section (Jackson v. Board of Election Commissioners, 2012 IL
111928, 48, 975 N.E.2d 583, 596 (2012)) and no word or paragraph should be interpreted so as
to be rendered meaningless or superfluous (People V. Chenewith, 2015 IL 116898, 21, 25
N.E.3d 612, 617 (2015)). When the meaning of a statute is not clear from the statutory language
itself, however, it is proper to consider the purpose of the enactment, the evils to be remedied,
and the legislative history of the statute. Home Star Bank & Financial Services V. Emergency
Care & Health Organization, Ltd., 2014 IL 115526, 24, 6 N.E.3d 128,135 (2014).
Under the plain and unambiguous language of subsection 2001(a) of the Act (30
ILCS 10/2001(a) (West 2018)), "[e]ach designated State agency[,]" which includes the
Department, 10 "shall maintain a full-time program of internal auditing." (Emphasis added.) The
phrase "full-time" is not defined in the Act. Undefined statutory terms are to be given their
ordinary and popularly-understood meaning. Skaperdas V. Country Casualty Insurance Co.,
2015 IL 117021, ||15, 28 N.E. 3d 747, 751 (2015). The term "full-time" commonly refers to
¹⁰See note 1.
The Honorable Frank J. Mautino - 11
"designating, of, or engaged in work, study, etc. for specified periods regarded as taking all of
one's regular working hours[.]" Webster's New World Dictionary 564 (2d coll. ed. 1976).
Applying the commonly understood meaning of the term "full-time," a full-time program of
internal auditing would refer to the internal auditing program undertaken by each designated
State agency that utilizes all of the regular working hours of the person providing the internal
auditing services.
While CMS' chief internal auditor may be providing internal auditing services
during the entirety of his regular working hours, CMS' chief internal auditor is not engaged in a
full-time program of internal auditing on behalf of each designated State agency. CMS' chief
internal auditor is only engaged in a part-time program of internal auditing for each one of the
designated State agencies that is a party to one of the intergovernmental cooperation agreements.
This approach is inconsistent with the plain language of subsection 2001(a) of the Act.
Similarly, subsection 2002(a) of the Act (30 ILCS 10/2002(a) (West 2018)) also
clearly provides that "[t]he chief executive officer of each designated State agency shall appoint
a chief internal auditor" (emphasis added) with the qualifications set out therein. The use of the
word "shall" in a statute generally indicates a mandatory obligation, unless the statute indicates
otherwise. Schultz V. Performance Lighting, Inc., 2013 IL 115738, 16, 999 N.E.2d 331, 335
(2013). Subsection 2002(a) unambiguously requires that each chief executive officer of a
designated State agency appoint a chief internal auditor. Nothing in the Act expressly authorizes
the chief executive officer to forego appointing a chief internal auditor or to contract around the
Act's requirements. In addition, nothing in the Act specifically authorizes multiple designated
The Honorable Frank J. Mautino - 12
State agencies to appoint the same individual as their chief internal auditor to perform internal
audit functions, nor does the Act impliedly contemplate such an arrangement.
Subsection 2001(b) of the Act (30 ILCS 10/2001(b) (West 2018)) does provide
that "[a]gencies which do not have full-time internal audit programs may have internal audits
performed by [CMS]." If read in isolation, it could be argued that this sentence authorizes CMS
to perform internal audits of any State agency that simply chooses not to establish its own full-
time internal audit program. However, this sentence is located within the same subsection and
immediately follows language which states that "[t]he chief executive officer of a State agency is
not relieved from the responsibility for maintaining an effective internal control system merely
because that State agency is not designated and required to have a full-time program of internal
auditing[.]"¹¹ When the language of subsection 2001(b) is read and construed together, the
phrase "[a]gencies which do not have full-time internal audit programs" clearly refers to agencies
other than the designated State agencies which are required to have a full-time program of
internal auditing.
Additionally, the language permitting agencies which do not have a full-time
internal audit program to have internal audits performed by CMS appears in the same section of
the Act which expressly requires that each designated State agency maintain a full-time program
of internal auditing. 30 ILCS 10/2001(a) (West 2018). To construe the language of subsection
2001(b) to permit designated State agencies the option of having another State agency, in this
"The Illinois Law Enforcement Training Standards Board (see 50 ILCS 705/3 (West 2018)) and
the Illinois Racing Board (see 230 ILCS 5/2 (West 2018)) are examples of State agencies that are not designated
agencies under the Act.
The Honorable Frank J. Mautino - 13
instance CMS, perform their internal audit functions, would render the language of subsection
2001(a) requiring a full-time program of internal auditing meaningless.
Finally, the language permitting agencies which do not have a full-time internal
auditing program to have CMS perform internal audits also appears within the same section as
the language of subsection 2001(a-5) of the Act (30 ILCS 10/2001(a-5) (West 2018)), which
required that chief internal auditors transferred to CMS under Executive Order 2003-10 return to
their respective designated State agencies within 30 days after July 1, 2010. Subsection 2001(a-
5) also provides that "if an auditor does not have a designated State agency or has more than one
designated State agency," then the chief executive officer of a State agency shall appoint such
person as the chief internal auditor of a State agency. When these provisions are construed
together, again, it is clear that the Act contemplates that each chief internal auditor will serve
only one designated State agency and will do so on a full-time basis. 12 Accordingly, because a
designated State agency may not share a chief internal auditor with CMS or any other designated
State agency without contravening the Act, a designated State agency likewise may not enter into
12 In discussing possible approaches for providing internal audit functions for smaller agencies, the
1988 Audit Report noted that Illinois had previously used but rejected a pool approach to internal auditing. 1988
Audit Report at 12. However, the 1988 Audit Report recommended that the General Assembly consider amending
the Act to establish an office under the Governor "to provide internal audit services for those agencies and
departments under the Governor which are not required to have their own internal audit programs[.]" (Emphasis
added.) 1988 Audit Report at 12. In response, the Governor's office and CMS noted that the proposal duplicated an
existing statute which allowed CMS to examine the accounts of any organization and to develop guidelines and
provide continuing instructions in auditing (see III. Rev. Stat. 1987, ch. 127, pars. 35.4(d), (e), now codified at 20
ILCS 405/405-15 (West 2018)), and that CMS had conducted audits of several agencies without full-time internal
audit functions. 1988 Audit Report at 13. When considered in the context of the recommendations made in the
1988 Audit Report, the language of subsection 2001(b) must be construed as authorizing CMS to perform internal
audits for agencies which do not have full-time internal audit programs because they are not designated State
agencies under the Act.
The Honorable Frank J. Mautino - 14
an intergovernmental agreement permitting the sharing of internal audit services without
violating the Act.
Department of Central Management Services Law
Two other statutory provisions were referenced in the audit report related to the
Department's recent compliance examination, subsection 405-293(a) of the Department of
Central Management Services Law (the CMS Law) (20 ILCS 405/405-293(a) (West 2018)) and
section 405-15 of the CMS Law (20 ILCS 405/405-15 (West 2018)). See 2018 Audit Report at
20. Subsection 405-293(a) of the CMS Law addresses CMS' provision of professional services
and provides:
(a) The Department of Central Management Services
is responsible for providing professional services for or on behalf
of State agencies [13] for all functions transferred to the Department
by Executive Order No. 2003-10 (as modified by Section 5.5 of the
Executive Reorganization Implementation Act)[¹⁴¹ and may, with
the approval of the Governor, provide additional services to or on
behalf of State agencies. To the extent not compensated by direct
fund transfers, the Department shall be reimbursed from each State
agency receiving the benefit of these services. The reimbursement
shall be determined by the Director of Central Management
Services as the amount required to reimburse the Professional
Services Fund for the Department's costs of rendering the
professional services on behalf of that State agency. (Emphasis
added.)
¹³For purposes of this subsection "State agency' means each State agency, department, board, and
commission directly responsible to the Governor." 20 ILCS 405/405-293(b) (West 2018).
¹⁴Section 5.5 of the Reorganization Act (15 ILCS 15/5.5 (West 2018)) was added by Public Act
93-586, effective August 22, 2003, to supersede portions of Executive Order No. 2003-10, which incorrectly
referenced the Illinois State Auditing Act (see 30 ILCS 5/1-1 et seq. (West 2018)), which addresses external audits,
rather than internal audits. See Remarks of Sen. Demuzio, May 31, 2003, Senate Debate on Senate Bill No. 1901, at
165; Remarks of Rep. Currie, May 31, 2003, House Debate on Senate Bill No. 1901, at 104.
The Honorable Frank J. Mautino - 15
As used in subsection 405-293(a), "professional services" includes "internal audit services." 20
ILCS 405/405-293(b) (West 2018).
As previously discussed, seven years after the issuance of Executive Order No.
2003-10, the General Assembly expressly returned the chief internal auditors to their respective
designated State agencies with the enactment of Public Act 96-795. Accordingly, the portion of
subsection 405-293(a) referencing the provision of professional services transferred under
Executive Order No. 2003-10 is inapplicable to internal audit services. Subsection 405-293(a)
also provides that CMS may, "with the approval of the Governor, provide additional services to
or on behalf of State agencies." However, internal audit services specifically fall within the
CMS Law's definition of "professional services," and, therefore, cannot constitute "additional
services." Assuming, arguendo, that internal audit services qualify as "additional services,"
nothing in the information we have been provided indicates that CMS obtained approval from
the Governor prior to providing internal auditing services to the Department or any other
designated State agency during the pertinent time period. 15 Accordingly, subsection 405-293(a)
of the CMS Law does not authorize CMS to perform internal audit services for designated State
agencies.
The audit report of the compliance examination also references section 405-15 of
the CMS Law (20 ILCS 405/405-15 (West 2018)), which authorizes CMS to provide internal
audits for other State agencies in certain, limited circumstances:
¹⁵The audit report indicates that "no approval for CMS to provide internal auditing services
specifically to the Department, a designated State agency under the Act, was obtained from the Governor." 2018
Audit Report at 20.
The Honorable Frank J. Mautino - 16
The Department, when so requested by the Governor or the
chief executive officer of a State agency, may perform internal
audits, and procedural audits and in performing these
responsibilities, the Department may examine the accounts of any
organization, body, or agency receiving appropriations from the
General Assembly, including all grantees and sub-grantees of
grantor State agencies included within the scope of the audit.
Section 405-15 thus provides that CMS may perform internal audits when requested by the
Governor or the chief executive officer of a State agency. It does not, however, provide that
CMS may act as the full-time chief internal auditor in lieu of the appointment of a chief internal
auditor by the chief executive officer of a designated State agency in accordance with subsection
2002(a) of the Act.
In determining the extent of authority granted to CMS by section 405-15, it is
helpful to review the section's legislative history, which parallels the history of the Act. When
the Internal Auditing Act was enacted, section 35.4 of the Civil Administrative Code of Illinois
(III. Rev. Stat. 1967, ch. 127, par. 35.4, now codified at 20 ILCS 405/405-15 (West 2018))
provided that the Department of Finance, a predecessor to CMS, 16 was "responsible for
procedural audits of and financial reporting by state agencies[,]' including the "power and duty
to * * perform periodical procedural audits of state agencies to determine that adequate internal
fiscal controls exist within the agencies" and to "examine the accounts of any agency[.]"
Public Act 82-789, effective July 13, 1982, however, amended section 35.4 of the Civil
Administrative Code of Illinois to provide that CMS "may" rather than "shall have the power and
¹⁶See Public Acts 80-57, effective July 1, 1977 (changing the name of the Department of Finance
to the Department of Administrative Services); 82-789, effective July 13, 1982 (changing the name of the
Department of Administrative Services to CMS).
The Honorable Frank J. Mautino - 17
duty to" perform periodical procedural audits of State agencies and examine the accounts of any
agency, and added language authorizing CMS to establish guidelines for internal audit functions
and provide continuing instruction in auditing. See Ill. Rev. Stat. 1982 Supp., ch. 127, par. 35.4.
Not long after the Act was enacted, the General Assembly rewrote section 35.4 to
provide that CMS, "when so requested by the Governor or the chief executive officer of a State
agency, may perform internal audits and procedural audits" and, in performing those
responsibilities, "may examine the accounts of any * * agency[.]" Public Act 87-817, effective
December 16, 1991; see Ill. Rev. Stat. 1991, ch. 127, par. 35.4; 20 ILCS 405/405-35.4 (West
1992). The legislative debates on House Bill 2181, enacted as Public Act 87-817, indicate that
the bill included "a CMS audit cleanup" (Remarks of Rep. Hoffman, June 30, 1991, House
Debate on House Bill No. 2181, at 5) that, like the Act, was "request[ed] [by] the Legislative
Audit Commission" (Remarks of Senator Davidson, June 20, 1991, Senate Debate on House Bill
No. 2181, at 93). The Senate sponsor described the bill as "tak[ing] care of internal/external
audits that's already performed by an agency." Remarks of Sen. Davidson, June 20, 1991, Senate
Debate on House Bill No. 2181, at 93. Consistent with the Act's establishment of the Internal
Audit Advisory Board (see 30 ILCS 10/2005 (West 2018)), the language permitting CMS to
establish guidelines and providing continuing instruction in auditing was deleted. Section 35.4
was subsequently recodified as section 405-15 of the CMS Law (Public Act 91-239, effective
January 1, 2000), but there have been no substantive changes to its language. Given the
legislative history of section 405-15 of the CMS Law, the language authorizing CMS to perform
The Honorable Frank J. Mautino - 18
internal audits must be construed as complementary to the Act, rather than a separate grant of
authority to perform chief internal audit functions for or on behalf of a designated State agency.
CONCLUSION
For the reasons stated above, it is my opinion that, pursuant to the Fiscal Control
and Internal Auditing Act, multiple designated State agencies may not appoint the same
individual as their chief internal auditor through an intergovernmental agreement. Should
designated State agencies desire to consolidate or combine their internal audit functions, they
must either seek authorizing legislation from the General Assembly or follow the process for
reassigning functions among or reorganizing executive agencies which are directly responsible to
the Governor as established by article V, section 11, of the Illinois Constitution of 1970, and the
Executive Reorganization Implementation Act.
KM
ATTORNEY GENERAL