HomeMy WebLinkAbout03-10-23 Audit Committee Minutes ApprovedX
For Record i ng St amp Only
Minutes of the Meeting of the
Deschutes County Audit Committee
Date: March 10, 2023
Facilitator: David Givans, County Internal Auditor
Audit Committee Public Members (6 members)
X Daryl Parrish, Chair (via Zoom) X Summer Sears
X Scott Reich X Jodi Burch
Stan Turel X Joe Healy
Audit Committee County Management Members (3 members)
X Patti Adair, County Charles Fadeley, Justice of the Peace
Comm issioner
X Lee Randall, Facilities Director I
Others Present:
X Aaron Kay , Performance X Nick Lelack, County Administrator
Auditor
X Erik Kropp, Deputy County X Whitney Hale, Deputy County
Administrator Administrator
X Robert Tintle, CFO X Bill Kuhn, Treasurer
X Jana Cain, Accounting Manager X Kathleen Hinman, Human Resources
Director
X Stephen Gunnels, District X Jessica Chandler, Execut ive Assistant
Attorney to the DA (v ia Zoom)
X Ji l lian Weiser, HS Compliance X Angie Powers, Administrative
QA Officer Assistant
This HYBRID meeting was held virtually via Zoom Conference Call and in the DeArmond
Room of the Deschutes Services Buiding.
AUDIT COMMITIEE MEETING March 10, 2023 Page 1 o f 7
CALL TO ORDER: Chair Daryl Parish called the meeting to order at 12 :05 p.m.
AGENDA :
1. Approval of Minutes for January 24, 2023
Summer Sears moved approval of the minutes of the January 24, 2022
meeting. Scott Reich supported the motion .
Votes: All yes
Motion carried.
2. Popular Annual Financial Report FY23
Jana Cain, Accounting Manager, shared that her department summarized the
County's 300-page financial report into an easily-digestible Popular Annual
Financial Report for FY ended June 30, 2022. The popular report is not
audited. She went through the report, highlighting the key areas of focus as
shown in the table of contents on page 1 of the report. This is a great
resource to which the County can direct community members. It's accessible
from the County's website. She shared that Deschutes County was awarded
the Fiscal Year 2021 PAFR Award for outstanding achievement in Popular
Annual Financial Reporting . Chair Parish commended the Finance
department for creating a useful resource for community members. Summer
Sears shared that other cities use the City of Bend's and Deschutes County's
popular financial reports as templates when drafting their own .
3. Internal Audit Report: Treasurer Transition 2022 #21/22-12
David Givans presented the findings from his Treasurer Transition in ternal
audit report. They've been conducting these types of reports for many years,
to prepare departments for new elected officials . He noted that in prior
years, the Treasurer position had been held jointly by the CFO. He gave an
overview of the timeline of the transition, duties of the Treasurer and audit
recommendations. Recommendations related to collaboration,
documentation, compensation evaluation and an annual review of
brokers/dealers. Bill Kuhn shared that the audit was timely and the process
helped him to focus in on some of his key duties as Treasurer. Robert Tintle
set timelines for the recommendations. Clarifying the roles and
responsibilities of the CFO and Treasurer was immensely helpful. Nick Lelack
was in agreement with Mr. Kuhn and Mr. Tintle, in that the audit was a
helpful process to track the evolution of the position of Treasurer. Mr. Givans
commended the Treasurer and CFO for their high level of collaboration.
Audit Committee Meeti ng March 10, 2023 Page 2 of 7
4. Internal Audit Report: Elected District Attorney Transition #22/23-4
Aaron Kay summarized the audit of the DA transition. He provided an
overview of the timeline and the budget background. Recommendations
include: documentation of successor duties/responsibilities, using County
purchase agreements for technology-related purchases, internal control
improvements over collected monies : Munis and daily deposits, and
complete written policies. Stephen Gunnels shared that their internal policy
manual has been updated and will be publicly available. The transition was
near-seamless, attributed much to the tenured relationship between Mr.
Gunnels and Mr. Hummel. Mr. Gunnels said that the audit helped him to
focus in on the DA role, and the differences in duties and time demands from
his previous position, so he knew better what to expect.
5. Internal Audit Report: Personal Information Data Privacy-Initial
#22/23-2
David Givans presented the findings of his department's audit on personal
information and data privacy . Mr. Givans shared that data privacy focused on
electronic as well as paper. Private Information (Pl) includes a consumer's
first and last name, in combination with identifying factors such as social
security number, driver's license number, medical history, credit/debit cards,
passport information, etc. This assessment was to gain an understanding of
the County's maturity in addressing privacy topics and compliance with
Oregon laws. A number of assessment topics were covered. The Sheriff's
Office, Health Services, Community Justice, District Attorney and 9-1-1 have a
higher threshold of protection, due to the nature of their work. Overall, there
was a high level of compliance. Four key recommendations were made . Erik
Kropp shared that policy GA-9 will be updated and shared with departments.
Mr. Kropp was pleased with the County's handling of sensitive personal
information. Most departments are diligent at determining who has access
and to what. Whitney Hale shared that department-specific data privacy
training will be developed in the future.
6. Follow-ups and Updates
a. Administration and Risk Cash Handling #22/23-10
Mr. Kay completed a follow-up on his first audit. Recommendations
related to some fiscal co ntrols. OLCC fees were the other piece, but COD
took over this role. 67% of the recommendations are completed; 33% are
planned (a fee increase which must go through the budget approval
process). This will be 100% complete by the end of the fiscal year. OLCC
Audit Committee Meeting March 10, 2023 Page 3 of 7
fees were put into CD D's permitting system . It was a big undertaking, and
Mr. Kropp gave COD credit for their efforts.
7. Update -County leadership recruitments/changes
David Givans shared with the group that he will be retiring effective June 30,
2023 . Nick Lelack spoke about succession planning for the Internal Audit
department. He commended Mr. Givans for his 21 years of exemplary
service .
Mr. Lelack shared that since July 2021, the County has hired many new
department heads: County Clerk, County Administrator, a second Deputy
Administrator, COD Director, Solid Waste Director, Health Services Director,
IT Director, CFO, DA, Treasurer, Community Justice Director and Forester.
Many of the new department heads were internal hires/promotions, which
had a ripple effect on their departments to backfill. He elaborated on
additional staffing changes countywide. The newest addition as department
head is Tania Mahood, the County's new IT Director.
8. Biennial Audit Plan development 2024-2025 -ideas and discussion
Mr. Givans spoke about how his department identifies internal audit work,
and asked the Audit Committee for ideas on potential future audits . Audit's
decision-making is risk-based. Audits should have an impact on reducing risk
and helping departments achieve their goals. In terms of impact and
probability, it is preferred for audits to be focused on high risk to have high
impact, as a means to mitigate and control. Risk assessment is used to
prioritize work. Some risk factor themes include:
• Strategic/management
• Complexity of operations
• Fiscal risks
• Community trust and confidence; and
• Assets profile
Mr. Reich suggested memorializing this methodology, in policies/procedures,
functions or elsewhere, in light of Mr. Givans' upcoming retirement. Mr. Kay
assured him that it will not be lost and is part of the department's
operational guidelines. Having a framework for internal prioritizations is
critical. Mr. Givans has a proven method, and is often the go-to that other
counties use to establish a proper risk assessment model.
Audit Committee Meeting March 10, 2023 Page 4 of 7
From this risk assessment, a two -year work plan is developed. Internal Audit
will be looking at the 2024 and 2025 work plan. He welcomed input from the
group on ideas for future audits, and asked for suggestions to be sent to him
within the next two weeks . Some ideas were discussed :
• Ms. Sears discussed the County's large number of transitions,
and how the transition audits are proven to be important to the
departments that are impacted . Perhaps there is an opportunity
for organizational assessments at a higher level. Although it's
not feasible to conduct a transition audit on each one, perhaps
there is a broader overview of organizational structure that
could be examined . The annual goal -setting process might be
another area that could be examined .
• Mr. Lelack suggested there may be a role for Audit to determine
value to future Strategic Planning. Mr. Lelack also suggested
operations of the Houseless Response Office, as they're about
to get a large influx of money through COIC as part of the
governor's housing and homelessness plan.
• Mr. Parish suggested that as we come out of a pandemic, in
which public health received an influx of federal funds, perhaps
there 's something to look at there. Land -use planning topics as
the County continues to grow may also be of interest.
• Ms . Sears suggested disaster planning as a potential topic to
pursue . Mr. Kay is currently working on a Continuity of
Operations Plan, which directly relates to disaster planning .
• Ms. Sears spoke about legislative affairs. Ms. Hale shared that
the County uses Bill Tracker to monitor legislation . Reports are
downloadable. Through our legislative process, departments
are kept well informed and engaged . Association of Oregon
Counties (AOC) and the county's lobbyist keep the County
informed .
• Ms . Burch spoke to the importance of built-in redundancy and
succession planning.
9. Internal Audit Recommendation Database and PowerBI
David Givans introduced his vision for the new recommendation database
and dashboard . This has been in the works for some time and Mr. Kay was
tasked with making it happen. Mr. Kay shared the functionality of PowerBI,
which allows users to visualize data in many different ways . This is part of
Microsoft 365 Suite. It's free to download and can pull any Excel data in to
visualize. He uses it to track Audit recommendations and the status of their
Audit Committee Meeting March 10, 2023 Page 5 of 7
% completion. There's a forecasting tool for trends t hat's also really useful.
Ms . Hinman asked about the accessibility of PowerBI to new department
heads, so they can track and work towards audit recommendations that
were set in place before they were hired. There is potential to share this
platform with departments .
10.Yellow book -Ethics, Independence, and Professional Judgement
Mr. Kay discussed GAGAS (Generally Accepted Government Auditing
Standards) General Standards:
1. Users
2. Compliance
3 . Ethics, Independence and Professional Judgement
Compliance with GAGAS includes "must" (unconditional requirements) and
"should " (presumptively mandatory requirements as best practice).
During the last Audit Committee meeting, Equity was discussed. Another
guiding principal is Ethics . Auditors are guided by principles such as: the
public interest, integrity, objectivity, proper use of government resources and
professional behavior.
Independence of mind and in independence in appearance, and threats to
independence were covered . Audits must be objective and unbiased .
Safeguards were covered, as they relate to maintaining objectivity in audits .
Documentation of compliance was presented: identified threats, significance
of threats, safeguards employed, management's ability to oversee a non-
audit service, understanding with entity for non-audit services . This process if
followed for every single audit.
Auditors use professional judgement in planning, conducting and reporting
results of an audit with reasonable care and professional skepticism .
Ms. Cain suggested Mr. Givans' successor should follow GAGAS standards.
11. Updates/Other Items
Mr. Givans highlighted pages two and three of the meeting agenda, including
committee member term appointment expiration dates . Mr. Reich will not
likely renew, but Ms. Sears and Ms. Burch expressed interest in renewing
their terms. Their current terms expire on June 30, 2023 . Mr. Givans shared
that he had been awarded a Lifetime Achievement award from his
Audit Committee Meeting March 10, 2023 Page 6 of 7
professional association (ALGA) and will be travelling to Baltimore, Maryland
to receive his award .
Highlights from the Internal Audit Status Report were shared .
12.0ther Business/Closing
Chair Parish reminded everyone to please email Mr. Givans ideas for future
audits, and thanked everyone for their attendance and participation.
Next Meeting is scheduled for Friday, June 9, 2023, 12:00-3:00 p.m.
Adjournment: Being no further issues brought before the Committee the meeting was
adjourned at 2:29 p.m .
Respectfully submitted,
~(P~
A~~ers
BOCC Administrative Assistant
Audit Committee Meeting March 10, 2023 Page 7 of 7