Audit  Audit of the Massachusetts Department of Transportation Aeronautics Division

In accordance with Section 12 of Chapter 11 of the Massachusetts General Laws, the Office of the State Auditor has conducted a performance audit of the Massachusetts Department of Transportation’s (MassDOT’s) Aeronautics Division for the period July 1, 2019 through June 30, 2021.

In this performance audit, we determined whether the Aeronautics Division established a review process for its contract with Aurigo Software Technologies, Inc.¹ and assigned a project manager to ensure that changes made to the software development project under contract were reviewed and approved, whether the division followed policies and procedures for the acceptable use of its information technology resources and for cybersecurity awareness training, whether the division established a business continuity plan (BCP), and whether the division registered aircraft and recorded the registration revenue² generated during the audit period. In addition, we determined whether the Aeronautics Division updated its internal control plan (ICP) in response to significant effects of the 2019 coronavirus pandemic as required by the Office of the Comptroller of the Commonwealth. We also assessed whether the Aeronautics Division Drone Program operated in accordance with Part 48 of Title 14 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), 14 CFR 107.61, 14 CFR 107.73, and the “MassDOT Aeronautics Drone Team Inventory Standard Operating Procedures.”

Below is a summary of our findings and recommendations, with links to each page listed.

A PDF Copy of the Audit of the Massachusetts Department of Transportation Aeronautics Division is available here.

1.    The Aeronautics Division contracted Aurigo Software Technologies, Inc. to configure and install an application called Aurigo Masterworks. Until 2021, the division used this application to process aircraft registrations and revenue collected from the registrations.

2.    Aircraft owners must annually register with, and pay a registration fee to, the Aeronautics Division to be based in one of the Commonwealth’s public-use airports.