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Home My WebLink About1999-12-06 Ordinance 4601follows: ORDINANCE NO. 4601 ORDINANCE OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PALO ALTO AMENDING PALO ALTO MUNICIPAL CODE SECTION 2.08.130 [CITY AUDITOR] TO SPECIFY REVISED DUTIES FOR THE CITY AUDITOR The Council of the City of Palo Al to does ORDAIN as SECTION 1. Section 2.08.130 of Chapter 2.08 of 2 of the Palo Al to Municipal Code is hereby amended to read as follows: 2.08.130 Office and duties of the city auditor. (a). The of the City Auditor shall be under the direction of the City Auditor who shall be accountable to the C Council. The City Auditor shall: (1) be knowledgeable auditing, . public administration, practices; in operatioBal and financial and public financial and s (2) be a licensed certified public accountant (CPA) or certified internal auditor (CIA); and (3) an organizational structure appropriate to carrying out the responsibilities and ions of this ordinance. (b) The mission of the Office of the City Auditor is to promote honest, effic ,effective, and fully accountable City government. To fulfill this mission, the Office of the City Auditor shall conduct audits and examinations of any City department, program, or activity. The purpose of these audits and examinations is to provide the City Council and City management with information and evaluations regarding the e ctiveness and e ciency with which City resources are employed, the adequacy the system of inte controls, and compliance with City policies and procedures and regulatory requirements. Speci ly, (1) the ty Auditor shall conduct operational and financial audits and other audit work as requested by the City Council. This will include independently determining and evaluating: (A) the soundness, adequacy, and application of accounting, financial, and other operating controls towards promoting effective control at a reasonable cost. 991118 sdl 0052400 1 (B) the extent of compliance with applicable laws and regulations and with established policies and procedures. (C) the extent to which City assets are accounted for and safeguarded from losses of any kind. (D) the suf ciency, validity and reliability of accounting and statistical data developed within the organizat (E) the economy, efficiency, and effectiveness of City departments, programs, services, and activities. (2) audits shall Government Audit Standards, General Accounting Office Practice of Internal Audi Internal Auditors. be conducted in accordance with as established by the United States the Standards the Professional g, established by the Institute (c) In addition to the aforementioned responsibilities, . the City Auditor shall: (1) coordinate an annual external financial audit the City with an independent certified publ accounting selected by the City Council. departments their e proces (2) provide consulting services to City operating as requested by the City Councilor City Manager s to re-engineer their operating practices and (3) provide consulting services to the City Council, as requested, regarding the accuracy and financial impact of information provided to the City Council. (4) perform other auditing functions consistent with the provisions of this ordinance. (d) At the beginning each fiscal year, City Auditor shall submit an annual audit plan to the City Council for approval. The plan identify the preliminary objectives of each audit to be performed, reflecting the purpose of the engagement and a preliminary description of the areas which may be addressed. The City Auditor will review the plan and consult with the City Manager prior to submitting it to the Council fo'r approval. The City Manager shall identify areas where the City will benefit from operational and financial audits. The City Auditor will review the plan with and seek the advice of the City Attorney prior to submitting to the City Council for approval. City Auditor will issue quarterly reports to the City Council describing the status and progress towards completing the audits. The annual audit plan may be amended during the year with the approval of the City Council. 991118 3dl 0052400 2 (e) (1) The City Auditor shall prepare a written report of the results of each audit conducted and will be responsible for retaining a copy as a permanent record. (2) Each audit report shall include: (A) a statement of audit objectives and a description of the audit scope and methodology. (B) a full discussion of audit findings and conclusions. (C) recommendations for necessary or desirable action. (D) a response from the City Manager or the highest official 6f the audited entity, except as described in the audit report processing (f) (4). (f) (1) Upon completion of the final draft of an audit report, and prior to submission of the report to the City Council, the City Auditor shall transmit a copy of the report to the City Manager or the highest official of the audited entity, to the City Attorney for review and comment, including legal advice relating to disclosure of information contained in the report, and to other appropriate officials as determined by the City Auditor. (2) Within five weeks after receiving the report, the City Maniger or the highest official of the audited entity will prepare an official written response to the findings and recommendations contained wi thin the report and transmit the response to the City Auditor. The report will be issued to the City Council within four weeks of receipt of the response. (3) The official written response will be included verbatim in the audit report issued to the City Council by the City Auditor. (4) If a response is not received within the established five weeks, as described in (f) (2), the audit report will be issued to the City Council without management response. (5) The audit report will be placed on the agenda of the appropriate City Council committee within 45 calendar days after the audit report is issued to the City Council. (g) The City Auditor will prepare and issue an annual report on the status of recommendations made in completed audits. The report will reflect the status as reported by the City Manager or the highest official of the audited entity. The report will be issued to the City Council in the first quarter of the fiscal year for review by the Finance Committee. Further follow-up audits will 991118 sdl 0052400 3 be conducted as determined and recommended by the City Auditor and approved by the City Council. (h) The City Auditor will have unrestricted access to 1 sources of information, property, and personnel relevant to the performance of a Council approved audit, unless prohibited by law. Documents and information will be handled with th~ same prudence exercised by those normally accountable for them and consistent with the standards established by the Institute of Internal Auditors. To the extent possible, the City Auditor will accommodate an area's daily ions in scheduling and conducting such audits. Nothing in this section shall authorize access to documents, records, and information related in any way to office of any elected SECTION 2. The Council finds that this action is not a project to which the provis of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) apply because can be seen with certainty that the ordinance has no potential to affect. the environment. SECTION 3. This ordinance shall be effective' on the thirty-first day after the day of its adoption. INTRODUCED: November 22, 1999 PASSED: December 6, 1999 AYES: EAKINS, FAZZINO, HUBER, KNISS, MOSSAR, OJAKIAN, ROSENBAUM, WHEELER NOES: ABSTENTIONS: SCHNEIDER ABSENT: ATTEST: THIS DOClJMENT IS CERTIFIED TO BE AN OROiNMJC[~ DULY PASSED BY THE COUNCIL 01 TI-l E CITY OF PALO ALTO AI\\D THi.:i/::'1cl'(~r~ POST);Q!.N lJ:lE C,09U1\ICIL ,'''"' .. ON .:/d.K.J:. L _ :-~" (WITHIN Hi DAVS 0:: iTS p~lSSAGf:) "I certify {or declare) und.er ~el1altY of perjtlfY that the foregomg IS true and correct," ti''NQQfAJ;lfI0 te ~'PA! sdl 0052400 4