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Davis County audit committee to pilot contracted auditor, weigh staffing options
Summary
The Davis County Audit Committee agreed to test a two-step approach to rebuild its internal audit function: hire a staff auditor and trial a contracted expert (10 volunteer hours/month offered) before moving to a formal procurement. The decision follows the internal auditor's resignation and discussion of cost, independence and audit scope.
Scott Park, Davis County controller, told the Audit Committee on Feb. 2 that the county is down an internal auditor and must decide what the internal audit function should look like going forward. Park presented four staffing models — contracting an external audit executive to perform audits, contracting an executive to oversee an in-house staff auditor, hiring the executive part time, or contracting hotline services — and asked the committee for feedback.
Park said his goal is an internal audit function that departments see as valuable and that helps fix problems, not just produce long, technical reports. He said large, deep-dive audits typically cost the county roughly $75,000 each and suggested the county could instead pursue more frequent, limited "micro audits" that are easier for the public and departments to understand. "I would rather have 30 micro audits or limited reviews than 2 massive reviews of a department that the public can't understand," Park said.
Public members and commissioners debated trade-offs. Heidi Wardekers, public member, and Tracy Probert, public member, both urged finding an auditor who builds relationships and helps departments improve internal controls rather than only issuing punitive findings. Probert said he has reviewed audits by Tyson Plastow, the Department of Natural Resources' internal audit director, and described them as "pretty solid," supporting a trial engagement.
Park proposed a two-step trial: hire a staff internal auditor, then test whether outside expert support (Plastow offered up to 10 volunteer hours per month, according to Park) provides sufficient additional value to justify a contracted arrangement. "Maybe what we do is let's hire an internal auditor staff and let's see if just under that volunteer time if that model even makes sense," Park said. He also committed to return with an estimate of the number of audit hours the county will need for the remainder of the year to inform whether a full-time employee or a contracted approach is more cost-effective.
Committee members asked Park to produce a clear scope and hours estimate for proposed audit work and to follow normal procurement processes if the county moves beyond the volunteer phase. The committee did not take a formal binding vote at the meeting but endorsed the trial approach and asked staff to report back with the procurement options and workload estimate by the next meeting.
Park said the committee's next step will be to review that estimate and decide whether to proceed with a short-term contract or a permanent hire. The Audit Committee set a follow-up for the next meeting cycle.
