Bill Text: NJ A1828 | 2010-2011 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Provides State Comptroller with express authority to engage certified public accountants as independent contractors on contingency fee basis.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2010-01-12 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly State Government Committee [A1828 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2010-A1828-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
214th LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2010 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman CAROLINE CASAGRANDE
District 12 (Mercer and Monmouth)
SYNOPSIS
Provides State Comptroller with express authority to engage certified public accountants as independent contractors on contingency fee basis.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel
An Act providing express authority to the Office of the State Comptroller to engage certified public accountants as independent contractors on a contingency fee basis, and amending P.L.2007, c.52.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. Section 5 of P.L.2007, c.52 (C.52:15C-5) is amended to read as follows:
5. a. The Office of the State Comptroller shall be responsible for conducting, in accordance with section 8 of this act, routine, periodic and random audits of the Executive branch of State government, including all entities exercising executive branch authority, public institutions of higher education, independent State authorities, units of local government and boards of education and for conducting assessments of the performance and management of programs of the Executive branch of State government, including all entities exercising executive branch authority, public institutions of higher education, independent State authorities, units of local government and boards of education and the extent to which they are achieving their goals and objectives. The Office of the State Comptroller shall also serve as the office in which the Office of the State Inspector General, which shall be responsible for all the duties assigned pursuant to P.L.2005, c.119 (C.52:15B-1 et seq.), is allocated within the Department of the Treasury.
b. (1) The State Comptroller shall establish the internal organizational structure of the office and the bureaus therein in a manner appropriate to carrying out the duties and functions, and fulfilling the responsibilities, of the office. The State Comptroller shall have the power to appoint, employ, promote, and remove such assistants, employees, and personnel as the State Comptroller deems necessary for the efficient and effective administration of the office. All such assistants, employees and personnel shall be deemed confidential employees for purposes of the "New Jersey Employer-Employee Relations Act," P.L.1941, c.100 (C.34:13A-1 et seq.) and shall serve in the unclassified service of the Civil Service.
(2) The Office of the State Inspector General shall be allocated within the Office of the State Comptroller, and the individual first appointed State Inspector General under P.L.2005, c.119, shall continue as State Inspector General for the first full term to which that individual was appointed pursuant to P.L.2005, c.119, and shall be eligible to serve in that position thereafter.
c. Within the limits of funds appropriated for such purposes, the State Comptroller may obtain the services of certified public accountants, qualified management consultants, and other professionals necessary to independently perform the duties and functions of the office. If deemed appropriate by the State Comptroller, the State Comptroller may obtain the services of certified public accountants on a contingency fee basis.
(cf: P.L.2007, c.52, s.5)
2. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill expressly authorizes the State Comptroller to hire certified public accountants as independent contractors on a contingency fee basis. Current law does not explicitly grant this authority in stating broadly that the State Comptroller "may obtain the services of certified public accountants."
Aggressive reviews of accounts, balance sheets, managerial practices, and internal controls reveal opportunities for cost savings and for refund claims for payments the State made in error. It is therefore in the best financial interest of taxpayers to have accountants scrutinize the State's books and management practices meticulously.
Contingency fees constitute the most effective incentive to motivate contracted accountants to discharge their assignment with iron resolve, considering that their compensation increases with the savings and refund opportunities they can pinpoint. Absent contingency fees, accountants lack a financial incentive to go beyond the call of duty, as they are only paid for completing a formal review according to minimum specifications but not based on their work's actual results.
