TY LAN leader urges audit review, says process misses underpayments to small contractors

Kimberly Slaughter, transportation leader for TY LAN North America, told the California High‑Speed Rail Authority Finance and Audit Committee that the authority’s audit process is incomplete and has missed underpayments to small business subconsultants.

Slaughter told the committee she “respects the Authority’s fulfillment of its fiduciary responsibility” but asked the Audit Review Committee to meet with TY LAN to review audit findings and recommend changes. “The Authority’s current audit process does an excellent job of identifying recurrences of overpayments to contractors by the agency but fails to identify underpayment for services provided by the business community,” she said.

The request focuses on ensuring the contractual audit process is “fair and equitable,” Slaughter said, and on giving small business subconsultants a way to raise and resolve findings they view as inaccurate or incomplete. She asked for a meeting with the Audit Review Committee so TY LAN can present concerns and recommendations.

The comment came during the public‑comment portion of a scheduled Finance and Audit Committee meeting that Chair Richards then canceled because several committee members were not present. Slaughter concluded her remarks after summarizing the requested meeting with the committee.

The authority did not provide an immediate response to the specific audit‑process requests during the meeting; committee staff indicated follow‑up would occur at a future Finance and Audit Committee meeting scheduled to precede the next board meeting.