Purpose
To provide the Audit Committee with information related to the Auditor General’s proposed process for follow-up on outstanding audit recommendations.
Background
By-law 457-2002 of the City of Toronto requires that the Auditor General follow up on audit recommendations made in audit reports.
Government Auditing Standards state that while management is responsible for addressing audit findings and recommendations and tracking the status of resolution, audit organizations are responsible for establishing policies and procedures for follow-up to determine whether previous findings and recommendations have been addressed.
Audit recommendations are a result of audit work performed City-wide.
The current follow-up process employed by the Auditor General is to conduct follow-up audits in a manner similar to audits arising out of the Audit Work Plan. These follow-up audits require a significant investment in audit resources and time, and are difficult to conduct in a manner that provides timely information in relation to the original audit report issue date. As well, in many cases, these audits result in additional recommendations which may not be followed up on in a timely manner due to other priorities. This cycle results in circumstances which make it difficult to remain current on the status of outstanding audit recommendations.
We believe this proposed process will result in more timely follow-up, better status tracking, and most importantly, more timely implementation of outstanding audit recommendations.
The Auditor General has discussed the proposed follow-up process with the City Manager and other appropriate management representatives and has incorporated the input received in these discussions.