Association of Local Government Auditors

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Home Quarterly Audit Shop Profile: Seattle Office of the City Auditor
Audit Shop Profile: Seattle Office of the City Auditor | Print |

12_Audit_Shop_Profile

Audit Director

David Jones, CGFM, CIA, CISA

Reporting Structure

The City Auditor is appointed by the Seattle City Council to a four year term. The Office of City Auditor is an independent department within the legislative branch of Seattle city government, whose primary client is the City Council.  The City Auditor determines the office's work program.

Office Mission

To help the City of Seattle achieve honest, efficient management and full accountability throughout City government. We serve the public interest by providing the City Council, the Mayor, and City department heads with accurate information, unbiased analysis, and objective recommendations on how best to use public resources in support of the well-being of the citizens of Seattle.

Office Budget

$1.1 million.

Organization Budget

$4.2 billion.

Office Size

8 FTEs (In 2012 we will gain 1 FTE to be funded by rates charged by the City's utilities).

Staff Backgrounds

Collectively, the office's staff members have masters' degrees in the following areas: accounting, architecture, business, human development, public administration, public policy, sociology, social science.

Staff Certifications

CGAP, CGFM, CIA, CISA

Standards Followed

Government Auditing Standards

Types of Projects

Performance audits (e.g., effectiveness, economy, efficiency, internal control and compliance) and non-audit projects.

Projects Per Year (avg)

8 performance audits, 9 non-audit projects.

Years as an ALGA Member

We're not really sure, but we have testimonial evidence (from a highly reliable source) that we've been members since at least 1995. 

Awards Received

2010 Knighton Award - Bronze (Medium Shop)

2007 Knighton Award - Silver (Medium Shop)

Director's Favorite Audit To Date

I can't just list one: Indigent Public Defense audits, Bias Crimes audits, Graffiti, Litter, Crime Hot Spots, Seattle Public Utilities Revenue Cycle audits, Annual Audit Recommendation Follow-up reports.

Other Items of Interest

In recent years, we have hosted Fulbright Program Humphrey Fellows from Djibouti, Yemen, and Tunisia as interns in our office.  They are mid-career audit professionals who are doing their best to promote accountability and transparency in difficult circumstances (e.g., being shot at).

Mary Denzel, one of our auditors, serves on ALGA's Long-Term Conference Planning Committee.
 

From the Editor

  • Constantine
    Procuring, Managing, and Leveraging Outside Experts

    The Publications Committee is excited to present this edition of the Quarterly focused on Procuring, Managing, and Leveraging Outside Experts. Audit shops utilize outside experts for a number of activities - conducting audits, advising, and training.  Their services augment an audit organization's existing capacity and when used effectively, increase audit impact.  This issue highlights lessons learned and insights into contracting with outside experts, advice in finding the right expert, and an inside perspective from an outside expert.

    Read more...

Opportunities for Improvement

  • Blackmer
    I wrote earlier about my misgivings with the concept of risk, and I need to confess that I have even stronger reservations about controls, the other supporting column of professional auditing.

    We've been trained in risk assessment and controls that mitigate those risks. We study internal controls, flowchart and then test them to determine how effective they are. Then we write audits about how consistently they are applied, how much risk is not addressed by the controls in place, and maybe even identify some avoidable losses.

    And we like our risk and control methods so much we take professional pride in applying the concepts to many situations. It's a powerful and multi-faceted tool after all, and one would hate to miss an opportunity ...

    Read more...

Past ALGA Quarterlies

From the ALGA President

  • President's Message - Spring 2012

    Tate
    Greetings ALGA Friends!

    After reading the articles in these excellent quarterly publications, a sense of renewal comes over me.  I have fresh ideas, an invigorated outlook, and a revitalized determination for audit excellence!  OK, maybe I'm getting a little carried away, but it is no exaggeration that the LGAQ has had a positive effect on my auditing career.  Where else can local government auditors find such specific guidance (and amusement) about the work they do every day?  I applaud our capable Publications Committee, Member Services, and all of you who contribute articles each quarter.  Thank you!

    Read more...

AudiTechie Column

  • Facebook’s Top 10 for Government

    Reprinted with permission.  Mary Yang writes for GovDelivery's Reach the Public, a blog about government-to-citizen communication, Government 2.0, and other e-government issues. http://www.govdelivery.com/blog/

    At GovDelivery's October 19th social media conference in Washington, DC, more than 300 attendees received some valuable tips on Facebook usage by government agencies from Adam Conner, Associate Manager of Public Policy at Facebook.

    Read more...