Audit reveals concerns with state processes for ensuring tax compliance

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — State Auditor Nicole Galloway today released an audit of the Department of Commerce and Insurance (DCI), which regulates the insurance industry in the state. The audit gave a rating of “good.”

Under state law, individuals filing for a new insurance license or license renewal are required to be tax compliant, meaning they have filed a state tax return and paid their individual state taxes. The DCI reports each applicant for licensure and renewal to the Department of Revenue. If noncompliance is identified, licenses can be suspended. However, the DCI has not received any notices of noncompliance since October 2018 due to a malfunction with the Department of Revenue’s system. The audit recommended the departments work to ensure compliance with state law.

Additionally, the State Auditor’s Office issued a letter to the Department of Revenue related to the system failure reported in the audit. In the letter, the office is requesting additional information about what other state departments may be affected by the issue and how the department is going to address the ongoing concern.

The audit also found that procedures for reconciling tax payments collected by the Department of Revenue on behalf of DCI need improvement. Reconciliation of the payments by insurance type instead of in total would help ensure they are posted correctly in the state’s accounting records.

The audit also determined DCI’s records management and retention policy does not comply with the guidance from the Missouri Secretary of State Record Services Division, as approved by the Missouri State Records Commission.

A copy of the audit can be found here.