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

a new audit said the Florida Department of Commerce (FloridaCommerce) and the now-closed Enterprise Florida over its surveillance of employees who had access to confidential corporate information and the department’s IT systems.

A number of findings from the latest audit by the Court of Audit had already been mentioned earlier. This prompted the accountants to review these areas.

One of the current findings — covering activity between 2020 and 2022 — found that both FloridaCommerce employees and those working for an independent third party did not undergo criminal background checks before being given access to information from companies seeking incentives. FloridaCommerce was formerly known as the Department of Economic Opportunity. The name change occurred last year.

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

The audit also found that former employees were not quickly denied access to the state’s accounting system, which tracks financial transactions. It also found that a handful of employees who had left the department still had access when auditors reviewed the data.

State law requires that Florida Accountant General conduct a periodic operational audit of each state agency.

Auditors completed their look at FloridaCommerce last year, but the report wasn’t released until this month. It included a response from Alex Kellythe current head of FloridaCommerce, who insisted that all auditors’ findings were flagged. He said the department had updated its policies or already had policies in place to prevent the problems from happening again.

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