(Courtesy First Things First)

After repeated audits, Arizona’s Auditor General said an early childhood development group is effective at managing its programming and uses best practices. The findings come after a 10-month audit of First Things First.

Senate President Andy Biggs requested the latest audit last fall. First Things First was founded in 2006 by a voter approved proposition that was developed to focus on early childhood development. First Things First has 142 full time employees and had a balance of $364 million at the end of fiscal year 2015.

Biggs cited the surplus when he called for the audit and suggested the money could be used to fund K-12 programming after the state was court-ordered to pay public schools $317 million in back payments.

The audit found FTF was generally compliant and rigorous in its accounting, but could strengthen its practices when it comes to things like cash purchases and travel. First Things First CEO Sam Leyvas said the agency takes the recommendations seriously.

“They’re minor, but I don’t want to be dismissive because they’re terribly important process controls particularly when we’re talking about the public funds and public trust,” Leyvas said.

First Things First is primarily funded by a cigarette tax. Jeremy Weber with the office of Auditor General said that revenue is declining.

“We found that the department had been taking steps to plan for and manage its sustainability in light of those declining revenues," Weber said.

This was the ninth audit for the program in as many years. The office of Auditor General will follow up with First Things First on their recommendations in six months.