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City staff present procurement and internal-control guidance as part of audit preparedness training
Summary
Staff provided a training segment on procurement of independent auditors and separation of duties in internal controls; council discussed procurement frequency and potential multi-year contracts.
The council received a training presentation on procurement of independent auditors and internal controls during the March 20 meeting.
Cindy presented guidance on establishing a competitive request-for-proposals process for independent auditors, discussed options such as multiyear contracts (not to exceed five years), the merits of rotating auditors, and the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) recommendation to re-procure at contract end while allowing the incumbent to participate. Council members discussed the city's history with Hinton Burdick (the incumbent auditor) and suggested competitive procurement and periodic reviews to get fresh perspectives.
A second training segment explained separation of duties for financial controls: segregation among payment authorization, recordkeeping and custody of funds; the clerk and treasurer functions should be independent; and standard bank-reconciliation practices were described. Staff told the council their auditors review separation of duties annually. The mayor and council asked staff to provide additional procurement timeline information and indicated they would consider a formal procurement in the near term.
No formal policy change was adopted at the meeting; council directed staff to return with more information about existing audit contract terms and options for procurement.
