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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES - 12071999 - C155 TO: BOARDS'OF SUPERVISORS 5....... IOC-0 ,,w..... Contra tr FROM: v •` Costa Vt INTERNAL OPERATIONS COMMITTEEUounty w DATE: r°:r`r,..__•.:.••'c November 8, '1999 SUBJECT: % REPORT ON FOLLOW-UP TO THE COUNTY'S EXTERNAL AUDIT SPECIFIC REQUEST(S)OR RECOMMENDATION(S)&BACKGROUND AND JUSTIFICATION RECOMMENDATION: ESTABLISH the following policy and procedure for addressing the annual findings and recommendations of the County's external auditors: • The County Administrator should forward to the Board of Supervisors all audit letters from the County's independent audit firm addressed to the Board with the recommendation that the letters be referred to the Board's Finance Committee. • When the audit findings and recommendations are referred to the Finance Committee they should be accompanied by a copy of the prior year's audit findings and recommendations, along with a report from the County Administrator that identifies what corrective action has been taken or is planned to be taken on each audit recommendation. When the audit report is scheduled for consideration by the Finance Committee, it should be accompanied by a response from the County Administrator that outlines a proposed corrective action plan that addresses each recommendation made by the auditors for the current year. CONTINUED ON ATTACHMENT: YES SIGNATURE: RECOMMENDATION OF COUNTY ADMINIST TOR RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD COMMITTEE APPROVEOTHER SIGNATURE(S): E e. ILK A ACTION OF BOARD ON_ Darember 7, 1999 APPROVED AS R OMMENOED X OTHER VOTE OF SUPERVISORS I HEREBY CERTIFY THAT THIS IS A TRUE _XX UNANIMOUS(ABSENT - - - _ ) AND CORRECT COPY OF AN ACTION TAKEN AYES: NOES: AND ENTERED ON THE MINUTES OF THE BOARD ABSENT: ABSTAIN: OF SUPERVISORS ON THE DATE SHOWN. ATTESTED December 7 , 1999 Contact: PHIL BATCHELOR,CLERK OF THE BOARD OF cc: County Administrator SUPERVISORS AND COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR Auditor-Controller Tony Enea, Senior Deputy County Administrator Julie Enea, Senior Deputy County Administ ,DEPUTY ■00-01 • When the Finance Committee reports the matter back to the Board of Supervisors, its report should be accompanied by the current year's audit report and the reports from the County Administrator on what corrective actions are proposed to be taken to respond to each of the recommendations in the audits. BACKt ROUND: On February 2, 1999, the Board of Supervisors referred to the Internal Operations Committee the County's policy and practice for responding to the recommendations made by the County's independent auditors, currently Macias and Gini. On November 8, 1999, our Committee heard this item and received the attached report from Scott Tandy, Chief Assistant County Administrator, Our Committee believes that the Board should be aware of the actions being taken to respond to each of the recommendations made by the County's independent audit firm. We are, therefore, making the above recommendation so the Board's Finance Committee will have a better opportunity to provide oversight and comment to the actions that are taken by departments to respond to all audit recommendations. -2- x OFFICE OF THE COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR s1 CONTRA COSTA COUNTY Administration Building 651 Fine Street, 11th Floor Martinez, CA 94553 DATE: November 8, 1999 TO: INTERNAL OPERATIONS COMMITTEE Supervisor Gayle B. Uilkema, Chair Supervisor John Gioia FROM: - Scott Tandy, Chief Assistant County Administrator SUBJECT: FOLLOW-UP PRACTICES ON INDEPENDENT AUDITOR RECOMMENDATIONS Pursuant to the Government Code, an independent audit of the county's general purpose financial statements is conducted each year. The audit is made to form an opinion on the financial statements taken as a whole and is conducted in accordance with generally accepted accounting standards. In addition, the independent auditor is required to report on various matters of internal control. If the auditor determines that there are significant deficiencies that could adversely affect the county's ability to accurately report financial data,these deficiencies are disclosed and recommendations made in the form of a memorandum of internal control or management letter. The Board of Supervisors has a longstanding practice of requiring department heads to respond to any recommendations with any corrective actions as necessary. For many years, the independent audit firm of KPMG Peat Marwick and now, the independent firm of Macias and Gini have provided memorandums of internal control or management letters that have identified weaknesses so that improved systems of internal control can be put in place. The most recent example is the theft of funds issue in the Department of Employment and Human Services earlier this year which was reviewed by the Internal Operations Committee. ST.cp d:tmdy-IO Item 11-8