Annual Report FY2015-16

From Honolulu County Auditor, August, 2016

City Auditor's Message The Office of the City Auditor (OCA) issued four performance audit reports in fiscal year 2016. The audit reports, which are summarized later in this report, related to:

(1) the Department of Environmental Services' H-POWER contracts and procurement practices;

(2) the city's Handi-Van paratransit service;

(3) Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation (HART); and

(4) the city's information security and risk management program.

Other reports included our sixth Service Efforts and Accomplishments (SEA) report, four National Citizen Survey reports, and the Citizen-Centric Report for 2015.

Through the efforts of the city auditor office, the National Research Center awarded Honolulu the 2015 Voice of the People Award for Transformation in Safety. The city auditor also received the Association of Government Accountants’ distinguished local government leadership award for 2016.

OCA continues to administer the charter-mandated audit of the city’s financial statements. KMH LLP, an external accounting firm, completed the following audits for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2015: the Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR); the Public Transportation System – Bus and Paratransit Operations Financial Statement; Sewer Fund Financial Statements; Management Letter; and Single Audit of Federal Financial Assistance programs. The Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) Statement 68 required the city to restate its financial statements for the bus and paratransit operations and to restate the city CAFR.

OCA passed its fourth peer review in November 2015. The peer review was coordinated under the Association of Local Government Auditors (ALGA) peer review program, which utilizes reciprocal peer review teams. The multi-tasking OCA staff also participated in a peer review of the Clark County, Nevada audit shop.

OCA continued to assist other audit offices by providing professional, administrative, training, audit assistance, and support. This year, the city auditor extended support to the Office of the County Auditor - Maui County; Office of the County Auditor - Kauai County; Office of the Legislative Auditor – County of Hawai‘i; Office of the Auditor – State of Hawai‘i; and 11 other entities.

OCA also coordinated continuing professional education meetings and seminars for Hawai‘i state and local auditors through its active participation on the University of Hawai‘i School of Accountancy Advisory Board and the Association of Government Accountants. In September 2015, OCA helped plan and conduct a two-day seminar for local, state, federal, and private sector auditors. Other activities throughout fiscal year 2016 included eight seminars on federal, state, and local government accounting, auditing, budgeting, and financial management practices; training on information technology security; and introduction to new audit tools such as meta-data and data analytics.

To promote government public service as a career, OCA mentored two students through the OCA Internship Program; made presentations to accounting students from the University of Hawai‘i, Manoa and West O‘ahu campuses; served on the University of Hawai‘i at Manoa, School of Accountancy Advisory Board; and developed a government accounting and auditing program for the University of Hawai‘i. The OCA staff also updated the OCA website and Facebook page.

OCA staff remain active in professional organizations. OCA members submitted articles for national and local publications on auditing the board of water supply, and homelessness and affordable housing. Additionally, OCA audit staff continue to serve on the AGA-Hawai‘i chapter board of directors and committees; AGA national committees; ALGA national board of directors; and the ALGA award and education committees. Other staff are active with the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, the Institute of Internal Auditors, the Institute of Internal Controls, and ISACA.

OCA staff continue to improve professionally. A staff member attained a Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE) certification from the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners. The CFE credential denotes proven expertise in fraud prevention and detection. Another member was awarded the Certified Internal Controls Auditor (CICA) by the Institute for Internal Controls. The CICA designation is granted to accounting and audit professionals who demonstrate expertise in internal controls.

OCA continually strives to provide high quality audits that add value to the City and County of Honolulu. Through our reports, we hope to fulfill our mission of promoting honest, efficient, effective, and fully accountable city government. OCA was privileged to be designated as one of the top 20 performance audit offices in North America by the Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA).

Read … Full Report

UPCOMING REPORTS:

• Requesting the City Auditor to Conduct a Performance Audit of the City’s Section 8 Tenant-Based Assistance Program -- Fieldwork Underway
• Requesting the City Auditor to Conduct a Performance Audit of the City’s Recycling Program -- Preliminary Survey
• Requesting the City Auditor to Conduct a Performance Audit of How Domestic Violence Cases are Handled, Processed, and Resolved by the City -- Preliminary Survey