Aldermen debate audit-board appointments and FARC oversight after recent audit flags

A contentious intergovernmental committee meeting focused on appointments to the Financial Audit Review Committee (FARC) after aldermen and audit staff raised concerns about the independence and capacity of the city’s audit function.

A public auditor’s report circulated to aldermen earlier this year flagged gaps in the audit department’s staffing and questioned whether FARC included members with sufficient professional audit or accounting credentials. Alderman Raphael Roman said he had met with FARC commissioners and relayed commissioners’ concerns that they lacked manpower and that some audit reports had been placed on file without follow-up. “Independence is the cornerstone of the auditing profession,” Alderman Graasso read from the audit report during the committee meeting.

Several aldermen asked detailed questions about one mayoral appointee’s financial experience and whether FARC members should be appointed by the board of aldermen rather than the mayor. The mayor defended the appointment process, said FARC is an independent board and described search steps used by the administration. Corporation Counsel advised that, under the city charter and current law, those appointments are mayoral with advice and consent by the board; the board approved a motion not to disapprove the slate.

Multiple aldermen said they plan to press for improvements in audit capacity during the upcoming budget cycle: increasing internal-audit staffing, considering procedural changes, and improving how the board receives and follows up on audit findings. Several commissioners had urged more resources and independence, aldermen said, and some called for a public forum and expanded FARC staffing in the budget process.

The committee did not disapprove the mayor’s nominees after debate; multiple aldermen said they would return to the governance questions about FARC and audit resources in the months ahead.