Audit Bureau
Mission:
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Reduce the Cost of City Government;
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Improve the Quality of City Government
Services; and
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Maintain the Integrity of the City
Government Environment.
Our mission is accomplished by conducting audits and other analyses
of City-funded operations in accordance with the New York City Charter,
and by providing our findings and recommendations to those City
managers and officials who are authorized and empowered to effect
change. We also release our findings and recommendations to
the public to inform it of how City government is working.
Our authority and purpose is legally mandated as cited in Chapter
5, Section 93, of the New York City Charter, as amended December
31, 1989. We are required to:
- perform an audit of some aspect of every City agency at least
once every four years;
- perform financial audits of City transactions, revenues, and
expenditures;
- perform operational audits of City agencies to determine whether
goals are being met and funds are effectively and efficiently
utilized;
- undertake studies on how the City uses computers and other new
technology;
- perform audits in accordance with Generally
Accepted Government Auditing Standards (GAGAS); and
- issue an annual report to the Mayor and City Council describing
the previous fiscal year's major audits, the audit recommendations,
and the implementation status of the audit recommendations.
While we are responsible for performing our audits in accordance
with GAGAS, we also voluntarily comply
with other applicable auditing standards, such as those promulgated
by the Institute of Internal Auditors.
The Bureaus of Financial Audit and Management Audit, and the Division
of Support Services conduct audits.
The Bureau of Management Audit is
primarily responsible for conducting performance audits of City
agencies, public entities, and contractors doing business with
the City. Performance audits assess programs, operations, and
compliance with applicable laws and regulations. In addition,
economy and efficiency audits help to determine whether agencies
are protecting their resources and employing them economically
and efficiently. Performance audits also determine the degree
to which agency programs, activities, or functions attain mandated
results or expected benefits.
The Bureau of Financial Audit is primarily
responsible for performing audits of public and private entities
that receive City funds (e.g., day care and foster care providers)
and of claims filed against the City. The bureau also audits private
organizations that operate their businesses on City-owned property.
Such organizations are referred to as concessions and franchises.
The bureau also includes professionals with engineering backgrounds
and conducts engineering-related audits.
The Division of Support Services (which
is part of the Bureau of Financial Audit) includes EDP Audit and
Editing. EDP Audit performs
audits of data centers, applications (in development and implemented),
and the adoption of new technologies. It also provides EDP audit
assistance to the bureaus’ non-EDP auditors through Computer
Assisted Audit Techniques. Editing edits
written bureau reports and other materials. It also provides training
to bureau personnel.
The Division of Quality Assurance (which
is part of the Bureau of Financial Audit) provides technical support
and training, and monitors whether the bureaus’ audit policies
and procedures are suitably designed and effectively applied.
Quality Assurance prepared this Audit Manual. It also updates
and administers Comptroller's Directive #1 (an annual internal
control self-assessment that City agencies are required to complete),
and administers the Comptroller’s Prequalified List of CPA
Firms and Public Administrators’ filings. Quality Assurance
does not conduct audits.
The Audit Library provides audit related
reference materials.
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To
report waste or mismanagement in City operations, contact CAC's
24-hour waste/fraud hotline: (212) 669-4600 or (800) 800-6385 or action@comptroller.nyc.gov
Overview of the Audit Process
Audit Finding Sheet
Elements of an Audit Finding
The New York City Procurement Policy Board Rules authorize the
Comptroller to maintain a prequalified list of auditors. See:
Accounting Firm Questionnaire
for Comptroller's List of Prequalified CPA Firms
Comptroller's List
of CPA Firms (.pdf format) (Last updated December, 2007)
NYC Comptroller's Office
Directive 1
Bureau of Audit Disclaimer
