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Knox County Internal Audit launches continuous‑auditing pilot, outlines FY26 plan including governance and capital‑asset audits
Summary
Internal Audit Director Zach Fullerton said a continuous auditing program will begin in July with monthly vehicle and travel expense reviews; proposed FY26 audits include governance reviews of boards/committees, schools procurement cards, capital‑asset audit (general county), a KCSO merit‑board audit, and a Clerk & Master data‑migration review.
Zach Fullerton, director of Knox County Internal Audit, briefed the Audit Committee on June 16 about recent work and the proposed audit plan for FY26.
Fullerton said the office will begin a continuous auditing program in July. The first module will be a monthly review of randomly selected county vehicles to detect potential personal use; the second will focus on travel expenses and high‑dollar reimbursement items, checking compliance with travel policy and GSA rates.
He reviewed ongoing engagements: the KCSO payroll audit (testing taking longer than normal but with a handful of payroll corrections already processed) and schools payroll testing (special methodology to capture employees with unexpected pay‑stub changes). He also noted the internal audit office updated its operating manual to align with 2024 Government Auditing Standards and won a national award for the fleet audit work.
On the proposed FY26 plan, Fullerton said planned audits include a governance audit of county boards and committees (to assess charters, minutes and oversight functions), a schools procurement card program review, a capital‑asset audit scoped first to general county government (schools and sheriff’s office excluded initially), a merit‑board performance audit focused on recruitment and vacancies for KCSO, and a Clerk & Master data migration audit to verify TENSUS migration integrity.
Fullerton also summarized the hotline activity since March (four new cases closed, various dispositions including referral to KCSO professional responsibility and one memo to the comptroller). He closed noting several recommendations previously issued have been closed and that continuous auditing results will be reported back to the committee.
The committee asked scheduling and scope questions; Fullerton said the capital‑asset audit will start with an initial meeting with Finance and that the governance audit is timely given recent events relating to the juvenile detention facility. No formal vote was taken on the proposed plan; it was presented for committee awareness and future scheduling.
