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Montana audit uncovered need for major repairs – The Causes, Costs and Consequences of Bad Government Data

States and localities are embracing the promise of big data. But just how good is the information they’re collecting in the first place?

Data is the lifeblood of state government. It’s the crucial commodity that’s necessary to manage projects, avoid fraud, assess program performance, keep the books in balance and deliver services efficiently. But even as the trend toward greater reliance on data has accelerated over the past decades, the information itself has fallen dangerously short of the mark. Sometimes it doesn’t exist at all. But worse than that, all too often it’s just wrong.

by Katherine Barrett & Richard Greene

Full Story: http://www.governing.com/topics/mgmt/gov-bad-data.html

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Montana audit uncovered need for major repairs

The financial audit for the state of Montana revealed some disturbing problems last week in front of the Legislative Audit Committee in Helena. The audit detailed that the Department of Administration does not have adequate internal controls to ensure accuracy of our finances, nor are they properly reviewed or issued in a timely fashion.

Some of the examples include: transportation expenses overstated by about $220 million, capital grants and contributions for Natural Resources understated by $445 million and transfers of about $47.8 million which were omitted entirely.

DEE BROWN

Full Story: http://missoulian.com/news/opinion/columnists/audit-uncovered-need-for-major-repairs/article_fdeb76a9-b6f7-5fe6-9207-193605bbf5f7.html

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