North Cottage Program, Inc.

This is a Massachusetts State Auditor performance audit of North Cottage Program, Inc., a Norton nonprofit that provides drug and alcohol rehabilitation services for adult men.

“North Cottage is a human-service agency located in Norton, Massachusetts, that provides drug and alcohol rehabilitation services to men aged 18 and over who are in various stages of recovery.”

The Auditor reviewed North Cottage to see whether it followed rules tied to its state-funded programs.

“The purpose of our audit was to determine whether North Cottage complied with certain laws, regulations, and other requirements pertinent to the operation of its state-funded programs.”

Board oversight matters because the board is supposed to guide the organization, keep it accountable, and make sure leadership is properly supervised.

“Since the board is responsible for establishing overall guidance for the organization and providing oversight, a lack of sufficiently independent board members affects the internal control environment and the board’s ability to operate effectively and in the best interest of the organization.”

If you are a taxpayer, client, family member, or community member, this audit is about whether public money going to treatment services is being overseen properly.

“This audit was conducted as part of OSA’s ongoing efforts to audit human-service contracting activity by state agencies and to promote accountability, transparency, and cost effectiveness in state contracting.”

The Auditor’s main concern was governance: North Cottage’s board did not match contract and bylaw requirements, and it had not done the required executive director review.

“North Cottage’s board of directors did not have the correct number or composition of members, nor did it evaluate the executive director’s performance.”

The Auditor recommended that North Cottage fix the board makeup and formally review the executive director each year, including documenting the review and tying compensation changes to performance.

“North Cottage’s board of directors should review and document the executive director’s performance each year and should base any change in his/her compensation on this performance review.”

The audit found no problems with the sampled billing and expense questions, but it did find noncompliance in board governance.

“Did North Cottage’s board of directors comply with the requirements of its state contracts and corporate bylaws regarding board composition and the evaluation of the organization’s executive director?”

A “performance audit” means auditors checked whether selected activities met rules and standards, not just whether the math added up.

“We conducted this performance audit in accordance with generally accepted government auditing standards.”