HomeMy WebLinkAbout01-18-2000 Audit Committee MinutestJ/! /I"" tJ.J j' /1
Minutes
AUDIT COMMITTEE MEETING
City of Orange - Weimer Room Tuesday,
January 18,2000,4:00 p.m.ATTENDEES:
AUDIT
COMMITTEE Voting
Members)Present
David
E. Sundstrom CPA, Chair David
L. Rudat, City Manager Eric
H. Woolery CPA (arrived at 5 p.m.)Jeanne
Arehart CPA, Acting Internal Audit Mgr.Non-
Voting Members)
Present
Dan Slater, Councilman
Mark Murphy, Councilman
Absent
Steven E. Meadows CPA
CITY STAFF
Helen Bell, Finance Director
Rick Otto, Senior Assistant to the City Manager
Irma Hernandez, Assistant to the City Manager
EXTERNAL AUDITORS
Mike Harrison CPA, Partner, Conrad & Associates, LLP
Steven Dobrenen CPA, Sr. Mgr., Conrad & Associates, LLP
Michael Gutierrez CPA, Partner, Conrad & Associates, LLP
I. Call to Order - Meeting was called to order by Chairman David Sundstrom at 4:09 p.m.Dave
Rudat opened with an introduction of Jeanne Arehart, who will become the City's new
Audit Manager effective March I. Councilman Slater indicated that he will have to leave
the meeting at 4:45 p.m.2.
Review of Minutes - A motion was made by Jeanne Arehart, seconded by Dave Rudat, to approve the
meeting minutes of July 22,1999, as presented. Vote was 3-0 in favor.3.
Update on Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT) Audit - Steve Dobrenen. Conrad has completed all
audits (for calendar years 1996 and 1997), with the exception of one where a few
months were missing. They have been in frequent contact and are trying to get this resolved quickly.
He referenced a chart showing status of the audit. Mr. Harrison commented that
the agreed-upon procedure format expedites the process for a speedy review,
and for keeping the operators more accountable.Using
a sampling method, Conrad projected the differences they found to the entire population.
Most operators-especially the larger ones-had no problem with this type
of estimated calculation, and merely sent in their payment. The area that was discovered
to have most problems was not collecting tax from guests staying thirty days and over.
revenue impact from this audit compared to total TOT revenue is quite small, perhaps only
I %. In the absence of documentation, estimates are generally high, but over tim(:,
numbers begin to decrease as operators produce better records. Mr. Harrison says that
there is certainly a cost benefit relationship between the cost of the audit (which was
between $18-19,000) to what the City has been able to recover, however
small.4. Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR) - Mike Harrison. Orange is one of the
few cities that internally prepares its own CAFR. Conrad and Associates, therefor(:,
performs a review of the results of the audit, comparing of the numbers as a result of the
audit against trial balances, etc., and checking the numbers because the schedules, etc., are
prepared in-house. Some of the smaller reports, such as AQMD reports, are prepared
by
Conrad.Mr. Harrison said that the General Fund figures (pg. 13) reflect the City's solid
financial condition. Mr. Dobrenen said they found no matters that represented
significant deficiency in the design or operation of the City in terms of its total structure, and also
did not note any reportable conditions. For the CAFR they had an unqualified opinion.
There were no reportable conditions in the internal control disclosed as a result of the
audit.Mr. Harrison said that since they have been our auditors, the City has intensified some
of the auditing procedures in some of the areas, for example, in the investment portfolio,
in that there are additional agreed-upon type of auditing procedures that
are accomplished.Mr. Gutierrez said that they do separate list of agreed-upon procedures,
with which they work with Mrs. Bell and Mrs. Arehart. Mr. Sundstrom commented
that this additional accountability and knowing that type of scrutiny is going on
is very good.In the Redevelopment Agency, they tested compliance with Health and
Safety Code and they've given a report on compliance on internal controls over
financial reporting, and there were no findings. They issued a report of their examination of the
GANN limit, and there were
no exceptions noted.Conrad and Associates submitted a packet of their various reports, a
by-product of the annual audit that was finished in December. Also, the City
applies for two award programs for their CAFR. The California Society of Municipal
Finance Officers have an award for excellence in financial reporting. The due date is
December 10th, so he indicated that the review process is now underway. Mr. Harrison said
he was certain that Orange would again receive an outstanding award in this area this year.
The due date was December 31 for the Government Finance Officers Award
for Excellence in Financial Reporting, and Mrs. Arehart indicated that the City assembled the
reports and submitted in time. Results take about five or six months, at which time
they will comment on suggestions for improvement in the
Comprehensive Annual Financial Report.As a final note, Mr. Dobrenen added that they were aware of no
fraud or illegal acts during the course of the audit, and no disagreements with
management. There were no changes in the accounting policies that the City should be aware
of. There were no
significant
Mr. Dobrenen said there is no management or accounting issues that we should be aware
of. They were also not aware of any consultation that the management had with other
accountants about the auditing or accounting matters. There were no major issues that
were discussed prior to the retention of Conrad for the last year's audit.
Mr. Guiterrez complimented Mrs. Bell's staff, that they were always well-prepared
and extremely helpful. Mr. Sundstrom commented how pleased he was with this report,
and offered his congratulations on the fine work that it takes to put this together.
Everything was as clean as he would expect it to be-there was nothing on the single
audit, no management findings, and only one small prior period adjustment. "
Phenomenal work."Mr. Sundstrom asked a few questions on the financials for clarification.
All questions were
answered satisfactorily.5. Y2K Update - Rick Otto. The City had no apparent operational impacts of Y2K.
Otto indicated that the City was well-prepared for such an emergency, and the City
put much effort andexpense ($1.4 million) into the preparation project. About 90% of
that amount related specifically to the Police Department's Computer Aided Dispatch
system. To insure that we were well prepared, police staffing on New Year's Eve
weekend was increased and standing by for
any emergency.Software Selection & Implementation Policy - Rick Otto. It was recently
recommended that the City adopt a MIS acquisition or procurement policy, which would
specifically formalize our MIS or IT purchases. The City currently has a practice in place where
all acquisitions are centralized through the City Manager's office, which is the
Contract Administrator for our private contracts for IT management. It was suggested
that formulating a policy would better formalize procedures and become a
good communication tool to staff on the procurement process. In March, along with an
MIS strategic plan, a policy will be presented to the City Council. Mr. Rudat commented
on the importance on maintaining tight controls in this area because things can frequently
get out of hand with departments ordering their own
computers.6. Update on Personnel - Dave Rudat. This item was kept on the agenda to give an update
on the audit manager position. He has been working with Helen Bell and Jeanne Arehart
on prioritizing tasks underway since the group's last meeting, due to the fact that there
were several shared duties. They have thus identified some future audit issues, universe,
and what issues needed to be taken on. Ms. Arehart, the City's new Audit Manager, as of
March 1, will take on these projects on a part-time basis as a member of the
City Manager's
staff.Work Plan - Jeanne Arehart pointed out that the number of hours anticipated for the
various projects are merely estimates, and will be fine-tuned as they go along. Mr.
Rudat commented that Mrs. Arehart will be on a 3D-hour week, which will
be adequate.7. Management Audit - Dave Rudat. The City has utilized the completed management
audit and incorporated it into the work plans and budget. This provided some
good
accountability as to where the City wants to go within the departments. Many items
identified are, for the most part, department-oriented. As the budget process is
begun,these will be reviewed. Mr. Otto commented that when the group met in July,
the management audit had been presented to Council two months earlier, in May. In
October of 1999, the City Manager went back to the Council with an implementation plan based
on feedback from departments on the recommended items. He pointed out
supplemental information that was sent to the Audit Committee after the main packet was sent out.
Mr.Rudat added that they used the same format on the supplemental report,
identifying anything that had taken place from implementation already included in the budget,
and then updating it in October '99. He sought to get a commitment from departments of
their willingness to comply. Where they differcd in opinion from the management audit
results,the departments were to provide an alternative implementation plan and/or idea to make
it
work.Mr. Rudat indicated that the City is pleased with the audit, as it is an effective tool
that pointed out areas where the City needed more personnel to provide better service.
In particular, the DMG study indicated a need for a Library Director, however, a
Library Manager may instead be sought. The City Council has given approval to make
some significant changes in the branch libraries for structural changes as well as
staffing changes over the next couple
years.The Audit had recommended that all Capital Improvement Projects (post bid) by
handled out of the Public Works Department. Since this plan would have necessitated hiring
more DPW personnel, the City Manager instead recommended that the City keep the
individual departments as the "lead," but utilize Public Works as the consultant or advisor. He
feells that the Public Works Department includes excellent project managers, especially from
an engineering standpoint in making sure all details are covered. As an example, during
the construction of Fire Station 8, while the lead is the Fire Department, Public
Works provided a great amount of guidance and assistance, saving the City a few
hundred thousand dollars in mistakes. The City was better able to construct a temporary
facility that has much of the infrastructure in place for building a permanent station seven
years down the
road.Dan Slater left at this point of the meeting - 4:45 p.rn.)
There was discussion about the value of management audits~and see what works in one
organization, and what doesn't work. By examining things periodically~and
objectively~procedures can be streamlined and improved. Mr. Otto says that DMG is a
large organization, and this group treated staff very professionally. In the year-long
span of their work, they were easy to work with. DMG utilized special groups and
specialists in particular
areas.8. Audit Report of Senior Center Contract - Jeanne Arehart. She picked up where Jim
Benuzzi left off on a wntract compliance with Orange Elderly Services (OES), who
operate our senior center. One of the areas she covered was insurance, where they were in
full compliance of the requirements. She examined their audit reports for the last three
years along with their management letter comments. On their financial reports, they got
4
an unqualified opinion, which indicated everything there was fine. She followed up on a
couple of management letter comments, and they have remedied those items. One needs
some attention on the City side as well, regarding some expansion that was done a number
of years ago on the building and some misunderstanding as to how the ownership is
recorded. The City Attorney's office will soon get that resolved.
They are in compliance with a component in the contract that refers to how they account
for City funds. OES is required to report to the City on their program activities on a
monthly basis on how they are doing, however, they are currently doing this on a bi-
monthly basis coinciding with their bi-monthly board meeting. As this seems
reasonable,the City will look at possibly changing the contract to read bi-monthly
to accommodate this meeting. Although OES is also required to report to the Council, up to this
point they have been reporting only to staff. They will correct this when they have
their annual board meeting when they submit a full report to their Board of Directors. The
report will henceforth be fonnally submitted to the City Council at
that time.Regarding review of their general cash receipt procedure, she spoke to
their external auditor to get a review of this. They discussed the controls, and he felt that
they were adequate. There was one area-they have a small rummage sale operated
by their senior volunteers, and "they don't even know what a cash register is." She
recommended a few things that would make it a little more strongly controlled, and they were
fine
with these suggestions.Mrs. Arehart noted that the City did just receive OES's latest audit
report and management letter comments, but there has not yet been time to follow up on this. That will
be her next step to take. Initially, our contract with them did not require them to provide
us with their financial statements and management letter comments, but the latest
contract now requires that. Mr. Sundstrom indicated that he would be interested in knowing
results of that follow-up activity at the next meeting of the Audit Committee, especially
if they still have some open items such as the item on documenting their procedures. He'd
like to go back to 1997 as a continuing open item. Mrs. Arehart indicated she will
follow
up and report back.Mr. Rudat wants reassurance that the funds and in-kind services by
the City are being used for the purposes that the Council has intended. What they
do beyond that-while out of City control-is also of concern to us because of
the negative impacts if a situation were to occur. Follow up with the
Audit Committee would be a good idea.Mr. Harrison said they are also funded
by United Way, which has reporting requirements that the annual audit has to be submitted within 120 days
after the end of the fiscal year,with one 3D-day extension. The annual audit and
management letter has to be in, and so they are evaluated by United Way of Orange
Way as well. United Way's review process evaluates the overall timeliness of the reporting
and whether or not there are any material problems going on, etc. Part of their
financial evaluation process is a 40-point scale and other requirements (i.e., minimum of 15 people
on the Board of Directors). If they don't comply, then they are reported
to
Mrs. Arehart looked at the last evaluation by United Way, and OES received high marks,
but are currently being evaluated because it's done every two years.
9. Cash Receipts Audit - Jeanne Arehart. Mrs. Arehart has done some follow-up work on
the cash receipts audit. This will be an on-going process on which she plans to
spend significant time when she is working full-time as Audit Manager. Mrs. Bell
indicated that the City initiated the audit a couple years ago, and has spent considerable time in
this area.Periodically, the City conducts employee training. Although this area is not
very material,Mr. Sundstrom added that it can cause many problems if not watched closely.
It touches on personnel issues, which can make it a
sensitive area.10. Request for Proposal for Audit of FinancialStatements - Jeanne Arehart. She
indicated that it is early to discuss this because the City has one more year on the contract
with Conrad. Because the Audit Committee meets so infrequently, she wanted to mention
this.The City will put together an RFP towards the end of the year for the following year'
s audit. Conrad mentioned their wish to be reconsidered, and if "change" is desired
over continuity," they would be happy to rotate the entire team if necessary. They would
like to keep the City of Orange as a client and would appreciate any feedback. Mrs.
Bell indicated her belief that the City has an obligation to do an RFP, but would invite
Conrad to respond. Before the time arrives, there is one more Audit Committee
meeting-in July-to discuss this subject. As a side note, it was mentioned that the current
fee is about 37,000 -
40,000.II. Update on Cable Franchise Technical Review and Rate Increase Review -
Irma Hernandez. She first brought this before the Internal Audit Committee back in July.
At that time the City was preparing to do an audit of the Time-Warner cable
fiber backbom:system, which was being totally rebuilt. Time Warner rebuilt it because they
were seeking a seven-year contract extension from the City. The City hired a consultant
to perform this audit. At the initial meeting with Time Warner and the consultant,
there were some difficulties regarding standards and definitions on what should get done,
what they're looking at, what they're not looking at. We have now come to
an agreement, but unfortunately our auditor has another engagement and was not able
to meet that timeframe. We are currently balancing all issues, and will try to schedule the
audit in the first quarter to actually look at the backbone system. One good thing
about the new rebuilt cable backbone system is we would have noticed a problem. By now,
we'd be getting a lot of calls about channels going out, my system's not lasting-
but we're not getting those kinds of calls. That's a good indicator of
the backbone system working.However, our consultant will go in there to do a thorough
audit of the system.There was a discussion about merits of the "Roadrunner"
system and digital formatting,and now it is projected that in the next six months the City should see
a sizable increase
in subscribers and revenue.Regarding cable rates, in September, the City received
notices from both Time-Warner and Cox about their proposed rate increase for the year
2000. The City has regulation authority only over basic service (channels 2, 4, 7, 11, and
only channels one would havt:through an antenna). The remainder is controlled by the
subscriber (
ordered), and Time-Warner (FCC regulated). When we received the notice that basic
rates were going to increase, the City Attorney's office reviewed it with us. Cox indicated
only a 6% increase, and they provide service to only 500 customers in Orange.
Time-Warner proposed a 26% increase, which amounts to $2.72, and they provide service
to the majority of our residents. The City therefore decided to bring on a firm to
review the Time-Warner rates, and specifically how they was calculated by the
FCC formula, etc.We looked at other Time-Warner cities-
Westminster, Fountain Valley, and Huntington Beach, who had already decided
to hire Telecommunications Management Corporation TMC) for a review. We were able to join the group effort with
TMC, and divide the cost among the four cities (technically the same, numbers a
few differences). We entered into an agreement with them to review all the forms for approximately $
3,600. TMC's initial review indicated that there were some
inconsistencies with Time-Warner's calculation.As a result, Time-Warner increased the rate by only $1.
83, instead of their original $2.72,which results in an 89-cent
per subscriber savings. However, there are still some inconsistencies, and our consultant
feels that some factual information has not been proven, so we're still working with
Time-Warner. Mrs. Hernandez referred to a letter that our City Attorney
has sent to Time-Warner, requesting more information. A phone conference, along with
our consultant and the other cities involved, with Time-Warner is set for January 24th to settle
some of the issues. Time-Warner does not want to "give" on some
of these issues (eight-cent additional decrease) because they feel they have already done so on the rate reduction.
At the
next meeting, she will give a full report back to the Audit
Committee.12. Estimated Final Bankruptcy Distribution (not on agenda) - Jeanne Arehart. She
distributed a memo from the City Attorney about the final estimated bankruptcy distribution. The City'
s total net recovery from settlement litigation is $6,233,433, which is $581,792 more
than what the City had written off. The write-off, however, does not include any interest
loss, but the recovery is net of all attorneys' fees paid. Very positive numbers.
Comparison wise, Mr. Rudat indicates that Irvine was at 96%. Orange is at
102% because the City took on some additional litigation that worked out favorably.
Distribution should be effective about February 24th. The City Manager is preparing a report for
the City Council to this effect. Mr. Sundstrom
indicated his pleasure that the City can now put this all behind us.
13. Public Comment - David Sundstrom. He referenced an earlier discussion about preparing a charter for the
Internal Audit Committee. He proposed the idea of changing the
name to Audit Committee" (dropping "Internal").
The committee addresses the CAFR, etc.,which makes "Audit Committee" more appropriate.
Also, he proposed reviewing the non-voting status of the Councilmembers. As
an example, the County appreciates the Supervisors' votes and their presence. Making
them voting members gives more strength to the committee. Councilman Murphy recalled that
the original thought was to put the Councilmembers in an "oversight" capacity.
The committee would be totally independent from the elected members, thus allowing people to
be more candid on red-flag issues. The audit function should hopefully be independent of the
body that is being audited. He can see the advantages both ways, however,
and
revisited at the next Audit Committee meeting, and also to obtain some suggestions from
our external accountants.
14. Update on Utility IS Audit - Helen Bell. Mr. Benuzzi had hired an IS consulting firm to assist
him in developing an RFP for an audit of the utility billing system. At the time the group
met, the City had put out the RFP and had gotten disappointing results. For all the time
that the City spent working with a variety of perspective consults, only two responded~
ne was a very small accounting firm for $22,800, and the other one was Ernst &
Young for $210,000. The entire utility system had cost the City about $100,000.Mrs.
Bell said that the system has been a challenging one, and although the City has gotten
utility bills out, it has only been due to the tremendous dedication of her staff. Mrs.Arehart,
in particular, has spent about 40% of her time in the last year working with the vendor
to resolve the various programming deficiencies. Bills are accurate, but there are still
a number of items that need to be worked on in the present system. Based on thesl~facts,
Mrs. Bell said they didn't feel it appropriate to begin an audit. The City had a brainstorming
session with the IS consulting firm, mentioned previously, to determine an alternative
plan of action to try and get the vendor to be more responsive to th~programming
issues. They determined that the most effective way would be to survey other
users of the system. There are about 25 other cities or agencies that have secured various
versions of CCS software, ten of which are good comparative cities. They developed
70-80 questions for the survey, and the consultant did the legwork. The cm.t
was minimal-between $4-5,000-and the final product revealed that
many other cities experience the same types of problems. No other city identified
anything different from what Orange identified, which was reassuring. The general consensus of UB
users is that there is not a good UB system available presently. The reason for this is
that the software is complicated. For Orange, the reason is most likely its
unique paramedic system.Paramedic fees are billed, but because it is a voluntary charge, it can't show
up on any subsequent bill. Mrs. Bell has spoken to other finance directors all over the U.
S., and they all seem to
have similar
situations.15. Adiournment-The date of the next meeting will be set for July 18, 2000 (the third
Tuesday). With no further business, David Sundstrom moved to adjourn the meeting at 5:
35 p.m.David E.
Sundstrom
CPA,