ORDINANCE NO. 8060

AN ORDINANCE ESTABLISHING THE OFFICE OF INTERNAL CITY AUDITOR; INCLUDING RESPONSIBILITIES AND DUTIES OF THE OFFICE

BE IT ORDAINED BY THE GOVERNING BODY OF THE CITY OF LAWRENCE, KANSAS:

SECTION 1.    a)  There is hereby established the office of Internal City Auditor, hereinafter “Auditor”.   The position shall be appointedsupervised by and report to the City Commission Manager and shall examine and evaluate the activities of the City to assist City Commission members in the effective discharge of their dutiesshall report to the City Manager.  The Auditor shall be selected on the basis of experience and education suitable to the professional performance of internal municipal audits, including but not limited to audits of:  the efficiency and effectiveness of City programs and services; City compliance with all applicable laws, regulations and requirements for the expenditure of public funds and the exercise of City authority pursuant to law; City compliance with internal controls and policies; and City compliance with generally accepted municipal standards for the performance of municipal services and programs.  The Auditor shall not have any responsibility for the preparation of the annual audit of City finances, referred to as Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR).

b)  All officers and employees of the City shall furnish the auditor with unrestricted access to employees, information and records (including automated data) within their custody regarding powers, duties, activities, organization, property, financial transactions, contracts and methods of business required to conduct an audit or otherwise perform audit duties.  In addition, they shall provide access for the auditor to inspect all property, equipment and facilities within their custody. Audits shall be conducted in accordance with the Standards for the Professional Practice of Internal Auditing published by The Institute of Internal Auditors, Inc., or when required by law, regulation, agreement, contract, or policy, in accordance with Government Auditing Standards issued by the Comptroller General of the United States, or other applicable professional standards such as the International Organization of Supreme Audit Organizations (INTOSAI).  All audit reports issued by the auditor shall include a statement that the audit was conducted pursuant to the appropriate standards or state why standards were not followed.

c)   The Auditor shall coordinate with the City ManagerCity Management in creating an annual work program.  The Auditor shall annually present thea proposed work program of planned major audits and planned special projects to the to the City Manager and the City Manager shall transmit the proposed work program to the City Commission.  The City Commission may amend or alter the proposed work program as it determines appropriate.    The Auditor may be directed to perform additional audits as resources allow.  

d)   Prior to public disclosure of an audit, a final draft of each audit report will be forwarded to the official responsible for the audited project or program and the City Manager for review and comment regarding factual content of the report. The responsible official and/or City Manager must respond in writing specifying agreement or disagreement with audit finding and recommendations, reasons for disagreement with findings and/or recommendations, plans for implementing solutions to issues identified, and a timetable to complete such activities. The response must be received by the Auditor within five (5) working days. The final audit report will include the views of the responsible official of the audited programs concerning the Auditor’s finding, conclusions and recommendations, as well as planned corrective actions.  If the responsible official does not respond within the specified timeframe, the Auditor will note that fact in the audit report.

e)   All final audits prepared by the Auditor shall be received by the City Commission during a regular meeting of the City Commission.  All final audits shall be public records pursuant to the Kansas Open Records Act and shall be posted on the City’s website. No later than six months after an audit is issued, the auditor shall follow-up on reported findings to determine that corrective action was taken and is achieving the desired results.  The auditor shall inform the City Manager and the City Commission of the status of corrective actions taken by management responsible for supervision of the program activity, function, or organizational unit audited.

SECTION 2.   This ordinance shall be effective upon adoption and publication as required by law.

Adopted this __________ day of __________December, 2007.6.

                                                                                                PASSED:

                                                                                                ________________________

                                                                                                Mike Amyx, Mayor

ATTEST:

_______________________

Frank S. Reeb, City Clerk

Publish adopted ordinance once in the official City newspaper.