Council member outlines internal audit plan, urges stronger auditor staffing and independence

Council Member Peter Spadafore, chair of the Lansing City Council's audit ad hoc committee, told the Charter Commission the council has worked with the city's internal auditor to create a formal audit calendar and to re-establish internal-audit priorities.

Spadafore said the ad hoc group met Oct. 7, Oct. 28, Nov. 18 and Dec. 9 and developed a plan that focuses initially on departments with the largest financial transactions. He said six monthly audit check-ins are scheduled for the remainder of the fiscal year (Jan. 27; Feb. 24; Mar. 24; Apr. 21; May 19; June 23) and that the current internal-audit work plan should conclude in May or June before a new plan begins.

Spadafore and several commissioners told the commission that a single internal auditor creates continuity and staffing risks. Commissioner Jodi Washington said 1 auditor is not enough; Spadafore said the role is isolating and the auditor has difficulty "checking his or her work" without additional staff. Spadafore recommended that the charter more clearly spell out the auditor's duties, emphasize independence from the departments audited and consider minimum staffing levels in the city budget or charter.

Council members and commissioners discussed differences between internal and external audits. Spadafore said external audits are performed by independent firms (he referenced competitive procurement for external auditors) and that external audits review the results of internal audit work. Commissioners asked whether quasi-independent entities (the Board of Water and Light, housing commission) are included; Spadafore said BWL is externally audited and that separate internal-audit arrangements can exist for those entities. Spadafore and commissioners agreed that clarifying the internal auditor's duties and evaluating staffing levels should be a near-term priority for the commission and council.