{"id":5468,"date":"2016-08-29T21:49:22","date_gmt":"2016-08-29T21:49:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ec2-52-14-78-51.us-east-2.compute.amazonaws.com\/?post_type=press-releases&#038;p=5468"},"modified":"2018-05-09T22:55:15","modified_gmt":"2018-05-09T22:55:15","slug":"first-things-first-audit-rigorous-beneficial","status":"publish","type":"press-releases","link":"https:\/\/www.firstthingsfirst.org\/es\/press-releases\/first-things-first-audit-rigorous-beneficial\/","title":{"rendered":"First Things First: Audit was rigorous and beneficial"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>PHOENIX (August 29, 2016) \u2013 Arizona\u2019s Auditor General has released an 83-page audit that describes First Things First as a high-performing organization while still identifying two specific findings and recommendations for improvement.<\/p>\n<p>The audit was authorized by the Joint Legislative Audit Committee at the behest of the Senate President last fall and included everything from the organization\u2019s revenues, spending, financial controls, grant-making processes and performance monitoring to First Things First\u2019s methods for research and evaluation of programs, efforts to avoid duplication with other early childhood programs or initiatives, and the purpose of parent and public awareness strategies.<\/p>\n<p>The audit \u2013 which was performed over 10 months and involved an audit team assigned full time to the organization \u2013 included no findings and no recommendations in five of the seven areas audited. The audit pointed to several areas of strength for the organization, highlighting that First Things First:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Has taken proactive steps to manage declining revenues and strategically plan for its future;<\/li>\n<li>Spends the vast majority of funds on grants for early childhood development and health programs and effectively utilizes best practices in overseeing those grants;<\/li>\n<li>Has appropriate financial controls in place;<\/li>\n<li>Has implemented a research and evaluation plan informed by national experts to assess progress, as well as ongoing studies and reports that demonstrate the impact of programs; and<\/li>\n<li>Fosters collaboration and coordination of early childhood programs, which helps ensure that duplicative or unnecessary services are not funded.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>First Things First CEO Sam Leyvas noted the audit was an extremely rigorous process.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t think there was any part of the organization the audit didn\u2019t scrutinize. We spent more than 2,500 staff hours in the audit\u2019s research and investigative phases, and working with auditors on comparing our work to both legal requirements and best practices,\u201d Leyvas said. \u201cIn the end, that level of rigor proved quite beneficial.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He said First Things First agreed with the improvements recommended by the Auditor General, some of which already have been implemented. \u201cAs part of our commitment to continuous quality improvement, we embraced the audit as an opportunity to learn about areas where we could improve. We appreciate the OAG\u2019s professionalism and diligence in completing a thorough assessment of First Things First,\u201d Leyvas said. \u201cWe look forward to sharing our progress in implementing the Auditor General\u2019s recommendations \u2013 as well as areas of strength identified in the audit report\u2013 with policymakers, community leaders, and other stakeholders.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>For more information, see the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.azauditor.gov\/sites\/default\/files\/16-108_Highlights.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Auditor General\u2019s report summary<\/a>\u00a0and First Things First\u2019s\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.azauditor.gov\/sites\/default\/files\/16-108_Response.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">response<\/a>. Annual audits for fiscal years 2007 through 2015 are also available through FTF\u2019s online\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/datacenter.azftf.gov\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Data Center<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><small><strong><small>###<\/small><\/strong><\/small><\/p>\n<p><small><strong>About First Things First<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 First Things First is a voter-created, statewide organization that funds early education and health programs to help kids be successful once they enter kindergarten. Decisions about how those funds are spent are made by local councils staffed by community volunteers. To learn more, please visit\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.firstthingsfirst.org\/\">firstthingsfirst.org<\/a>.<\/small><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>PHOENIX (August 29, 2016) \u2013 Arizona\u2019s Auditor General has released an 83-page audit that describes First Things First as a high-performing organization while still identifying two specific findings and recommendations for improvement. The audit was authorized by the Joint Legislative Audit Committee at the behest of the Senate President last fall and included everything from &hellip; <a class=\"more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.firstthingsfirst.org\/es\/press-releases\/first-things-first-audit-rigorous-beneficial\/\">Read More<i class=\"fas fa-arrow-circle-right\"><\/i><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":0,"template":"","class_list":["post-5468","press-releases","type-press-releases","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.1 (Yoast SEO v27.1.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>First Things First: Audit was rigorous and beneficial - First Things First<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.firstthingsfirst.org\/es\/press-releases\/first-things-first-audit-rigorous-beneficial\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"es_ES\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"First Things First: Audit was rigorous and beneficial\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"PHOENIX (August 29, 2016) \u2013 Arizona\u2019s Auditor General has released an 83-page audit that describes First Things First as a high-performing organization while still identifying two specific findings and recommendations for improvement. 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