Glendale audit committee reviews internal audit report citing documentation gaps in workers’ compensation settlements and minor PCI exceptions

Natalie Manami Valdivia, principal internal auditor for the City of Glendale, presented the internal audit quarterly activity report for the quarter ended March 31, 2025, to the Glendale Audit Committee at a special meeting on May 27, 2025.

The audit covered two completed projects—the workers’ compensation disability settlement process and a Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards (PCI DSS) compliance review—plus continuous audits of procurement card activity and user access, an in-progress take-home-vehicle audit, outstanding follow-ups, and staffing transitions. Auditors recommended clearer settlement documentation, closer contract oversight of the city’s third‑party administrator (TPA), establishment of KPIs, recovery of a small overbilling, and periodic reviews of PCI procedures and training.

Valdivia opened the presentation by telling the committee she would “walk you through each of the 7 sections of our internal audit quarterly activity report, starting with the projects completed.” Senior internal auditor Ani Antonacion (presented in the meeting as the lead on the workers’ compensation review) summarized the disability‑settlement audit and its findings. “The focus of this audit was specifically on the disability settlement, not the entirety of the workers’ compensation process,” Antonacion said, and described how settlements are documented and authorized in the city’s process.

The workers’ compensation audit reviewed 280 settled claims from Oct. 1, 2019, through Sept. 30, 2024. Auditors reported that…