Project: Audit of Parks Maintenance

Palo Alto made very good use of their best practice research as they undertook a very comprehensive audit of parks maintenance. The report was quite well-written and easy to follow and reflected the fact that they considered all aspects of park maintenance, not just costs. Their focus on the health and safety of the community was an essential component of their audit work. The level of detailed analysis they undertook allowed them to develop detailed maintenance costs for each park site that will allow the client to determine the best method of determining whether to do the work in-house or contract it out. Their commitment to working with the client and the persuasiveness of their arguments resulted in nearly all their recommendations being accepted. Implementation of their recommendations is expected to result in savings of $400,000 per year, which is about 10% of the City’s Parks Division budget.

Project: Eliminate or Revise the Regional System Fee Credit Program

Metro developed an audit scope that allowed them not only to describe how their regional waste processing system program had outlived its usefulness, but also provided options for Metro to consider in light of political realities as they decided the program’s future. They clearly identified the ways in which the existing program was failing to meet its original goals. They also offered clear alternatives that would ensure that if the program was discontinued, the original program goals could still be accomplished at lesser cost. They used photographs and well-written examples to make their points without overwhelming the report. Their well-organized and clearly presented report contributed to the persuasiveness of their recommendations. Their recommendations were all accepted by management, who began implementation right away.

Project: City of Torrance Audit of Residential Rubbish Billing

The effectiveness of the City’s residential billing system was at best uncertain when the Torrance shop began its audit. While defining their scope, they developed relatively straightforward methodologies that incorporated data matching using computer software. Those methodologies allowed them to identify addresses that were not being billed for rubbish services. Their project methodology and audit findings were clearly linked and supported by good use of visuals in the presentation that accompanied their clear and concise report. Their project will result in increased revenues of about $25,000 per year in addition to collections on an additional $7,000 in retroactive billings.

Project: Public Utilities – Water Division: Production, Operations and Maintenance Functions

The Riverside shop approached this audit by clearly defining the scope of their intended work and advising readers how other processes would be addressed in other projects. In their concise report, Riverside focused on the most important issue discovered during the audit – the need to improve water loss from their network. Their recommendations addressed the underlying reasons for real and apparent water loss from their system, thus facilitating increases in revenues and reductions in real losses. Of note is the fact that this was their first performance audit in ten years.

Project: Police Investigations: Improvements Needed to Address Relatively Low Clearance Rates

The City of Portland “Audit of Police Investigations” stood out for the innovative scope, significance in value to the City, clear and well-written descriptions of scope, methodology and findings, and comprehensive techniques used to support their conclusions. The report writing gave a concise background of Police Investigations, and laid out in a detailed understandable manner the cause and effect findings have had on Police Investigations. The use of comparisons with other police departments around the country, research of police practices, and interviews to support conclusions demonstrated a professional approach toward reaching audit objectives. The report effectively built the case for the City of Portland to take steps to improve Police Investigation practices.

Project: Audit of the City’s Road Maintenance Practices

The “Audit of the City’s Road Maintenance Practices” performed by the City Auditor’s Office of the City and County of Honolulu was a comprehensive and thorough review of the City’s road maintenance practices. The audit report was persuasive in demonstrating the value of the audits’ scope to the City of Honolulu and provided strong support for audit conclusions and recommendations. The report also showed a high degree of professionalism and innovativeness by bringing various road maintenance issues to the readers’ attention and what are best practices in relation to other communities. Charts and exhibits illustrating various performance measures related to road maintenance were well done.

Project: Performance Audit of General Obligation Bond Program

Oklahoma City Auditor’s Office report on the “Audit of the General Obligation Bond Program” was a well-written report, which stood out with the significance of the conclusions and its’ impact on the community. The use of graphs and charts to illustrate audit conclusions was highly effective. The conclusions and recommendations were well supported, and presented in a clear and concise manner.

Project: Audit of Agreements between the City and the Filipino American Senior Opportunities Development Council

The City of San Jose has received an Honorable Mention for its work on the “Audit of Agreements between the City and the Filipino American Senior Opportunities Development Council”. The report was impressive in presenting complex findings in a detailed yet understandable fashion. The audit report clearly demonstrated professionalism in conducting the audit and its’ importance to entities outside the City of San Jose. The use of graphs and tables at key points were useful in supporting audit findings.

The Large Shop category comprises the audit shops of over 15 auditors. There were 8 submissions from large shops this year.

Project: Health Service System: The System is Not Structured, Governed or Managed Effectively to Ensure Equitable and Cost Effective Health Benefits For All Members and Their Employers

This audit reviewed the Health Services Trust Fund which had a $41 million surplus--$27 million more than an actuarial study recommended. The report focused not only on the surplus but on ways to improve the process of designing health care coverage and approving affordable rates for all. In addition, the report identified several best practices to assist management and the board focus on broader policy issues and governance. The report was also very timely as the Health Service System is becoming an independent department. In fact, management’s response noted that the audit report provides “a tremendous tool” for the Health Service System to use as it embarks on becoming an independent department.

Project: Audit of Orange County Highway Construction Division

The highlight of this audit was the innovative approach used to assess whether contractors complied with contract specifications. The audit organization hired outside geotechnical engineers to drill core samples of roads being constructed in the County. These samples demonstrated that contractors failed to construct roads to the depth required in the contract specifications. In its response, management agreed to implement the core sampling technique on future road projects.

Project: Audit of Payroll and Timekeeping Practices at Maintenance Operations and Facilities Construction

This audit uncovered systemic problems with the manner in which maintenance and construction employees were supervised and controlled. The audit staff conducted numerous observations to demonstrate that employees were not performing their duties. As a result of the audit, management, with employee unions’ concurrence, implemented additional controls to improve employee tracking and monitoring.