Chief auditor: change-order procedures lag practice; KPIs unmonitored

Paula Rivera, chief auditor for the California High‑Speed Rail Authority, told the authority’s Finance and Audit Committee that an audit of design‑build contract change orders found documented procedures and general compliance but also a lack of continuity between written procedures and current practice. "The change order process is missing continuity between procedures, policies, and practices," Rivera said during the committee meeting.

The audit examined the authority’s process from the identification of a change to submittal, negotiation and execution. Rivera said the authority requires change orders above $1,000,000 to go to the change control committee and those above $20,000,000 to go to the business oversight committee, and that the change control committee — reimplemented in 2021 — participates in a merit assessment, an independent cost analysis and negotiation for changes.

The audit team reported one formal issue and two observations. The issue was the lack of…