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Municipal Auditing
About The Office
On April 5, 1973, Andrews, Burket & Co., Certified Public Accountants, recommended to the Roanoke City Audit Committee that the City establish an independent internal audit department reporting to City Council. At that time, internal auditing was the responsibility of the City Auditor who also performed all the City’s accounting functions. A City Charter amendment effective July 1, 1974, split the City Auditor's Office into the Department of Finance (Charter §25.1) and Municipal Auditing (Charter §25.2). The former City Auditor became the first Director of Finance. William L. Brogan was appointed by City Council as the first Municipal Auditor. He had 13 years experience as a CPA and 6 years as Controller with Roanoke College. Two former City Auditor’s Office employees were provided to staff the Municipal Auditing department. The new department rounded out its staff by adding one clerical position. On October 1, 1974, a position for an Assistant Municipal Auditor was created and filled by James D. Grisso, bringing the staff total to five.
Today, the Municipal Auditing department has a staff of six. The following lists the current personnel for the Municipal Auditing department.
- Drew Harmon, CPA, CIA, Municipal Auditor
- Dawn L. Hope, CPA, Assistant Municipal Auditor
- Doris P. England, CPS, CAP, Administrative Assistant
- Pamela C. Mosdell, CIA, CISA, Information Systems Auditor
- Deborah B. Noble, CPA, Senior Auditor
- Ann H. Clark, CPA, Senior Auditor
Internal Auditing
Under the provisions of the City Charter, the Municipal Auditing department examines and audits all City accounts, books, and records that reflect transactions involving financial activities of the City. Among other responsibilities, the department is required to immediately report any unauthorized, illegal, or irregular acts or practices discovered affecting or involving public funds or the financial affairs of the City. The Municipal Auditing department is accountable to the City Council and reports directly to a committee of Council members appointed by the Mayor. The department works directly with City management and employees throughout the City to identify and address organizational risks and fraudulent activity. The department maintains a similar relationship with the Roanoke City School Board and the management and employees of the Roanoke City School System. The department does not work directly with the public; however, the department is accountable to the citizens' elected representatives.
The responsibilities of the Municipal Auditing department are carried out using the Government Audit Standards, as issued by the United States Government Accountability Office (GAO - Yellow Book).
External Auditing
The City of Roanoke is audited annually by external auditors. The FY2006 audit, which covered the period July 1, 2005, through June 30, 2006, was completed in December 2006 and resulted in an unqualified opinion.
Currently the City is audited externally by KPMG. This audit combined with internal audits, helps to provide a government to citizens that is financially sound with good internal controls.
Management Assistance
The auditing staff promotes improvements to the City's manual and computer-based accountability systems. This is accomplished through cooperation with all levels of City management in an effort to strengthen internal accounting and administrative controls.
Municipal Auditing Strategic Business Plan
The department began the process of strategic business planning in 1995, when the high performance organization (HPO) initiative was underway. At that time, the entire staff participated in a series of meetings to evaluate the department's mission, vision, and values. These have been periodically updated as new staff members have been hired to ensure staff ownership.
When the Strategic Business Planning model (SBP) was introduced in June 2000, the Municipal Auditing department was well prepared to begin planning. In early November 2000, the staff began working on the plan and a final plan was adopted December 31, 2000. The current July 2005 version of the Strategic Business Plan is available and can be accessed from the Municipal Auditing departmental home page.
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