City Services Auditor reports midyear work plan and ongoing audits, highlights benefits-navigator pilot

Peg Stevenson, deputy director in the Controller's Office, and Tanya (chief audit executive) briefed the committee on the CSA's midyear activities and functions. Stevenson described the CSA's two units — performance and audits — and urged committee members to review the CSA’s public performance scorecards, which track about 80 measures across city services such as ambulance response times and appointment waits at public health clinics.

Stevenson said the CSA's budget is roughly $16.5 million and the unit employs about 70 staff, including auditors and performance analysts who provide regular public reporting. The CSA described procedures for developing an annual work plan and a risk-based process for selecting audits.

The presentation summarized recent findings and ongoing projects: a benefits-navigator pilot that placed a navigator in shelter sites to help clients apply for Medi-Cal and other benefits showed higher enrollment success and the CSA plans to expand and monitor enrollment metrics; a review of the District Attorney’s Independent Investigations Bureau benchmarked case processing and timing; and the CSA continues joint fiscal and compliance monitoring for nonprofits to reduce duplicative oversight across city agencies. The CSA also reported construction-related expenditure audits conducted with its construction management partner and previewed an upcoming GO bond expenditure audit on the 2014 transportation bond.

Committee members asked how to access CSA deliverables and audit reports; CSA staff said they will add committee members to distribution lists and provide the requested reports. Controller's Office staff and committee members also discussed the forward debt calendar and forthcoming bond issuances.