New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli announced today the following audits and examinations have been issued:

Central New York Regional Transportation Authority (Centro): Compliance With Payment Card Industry (PCI) Standards (2016-S-31)

Auditors reviewed select operational and technical security controls over the protection of cardholder data at the authority. They identified several matters that management should address to improve Centro’s information security program for cardholder data and to help ensure it meets PCI requirements.

Public Service Commission (PSC): Oversight of Complaint Activity (2015-S-82)

Auditors found the PSC consistently applies state laws, rules, and regulations to enforce utility consumer protections related to consumer complaints. The PSC could improve its monitoring efforts by tracking and documenting broader complaints about more global issues, such as inadequate infrastructure or poor service reliability throughout a particular area, that impact more than just individual consumers. The commission generally does not fine utilities to ensure compliance with regulations. Rather, it prefers to work with the utilities to achieve compliance, such as by requiring performance plans that can be used to evaluate a utility’s performance.

Higher Education Services Corporation: Tuition Assistance Program, Fordham University (2016-T-2)

Auditors determined that Fordham was overpaid $104,630 because school officials incorrectly certified some students as eligible for state financial aid awards. Incorrect certifications included four students who received awards but did not maintain good academic standing and four students who received awards but did not meet full-time requirements.

New York State Insurance Fund (NYSIF): Risk Management Planning Group (2015-1A-001)

NYSIF did not effectively address the risk of its Risk Managing Planning Group serving in conflicting roles or follow its policies and industry practices when calculating $245.9 million in combined premiums and providing $125.3 million in combined discounts for a hospital and supermarket. NYSIF priced the premiums without critical information to ensure the premiums collected would be sufficient to cover the ultimate cost of the claims. Discounts were provided to both entities despite the missing information and without required documentation to support the decisions. NYSIF also undercharged the two up to a cumulative $14.1 million for workers’ compensation assessments.

For access to state and local government spending and more than 50,000 state contracts, visit www.openbooknewyork.com. The easy-to-use website was created by DiNapoli to promote openness in government and provide taxpayers with better access to the financial workings of government.