Denver Art Museum Follow-up

The Denver Art Museum, the Mayor’s Office, and the Controller’s Office fully implemented eight recommendations made in the original audit report. But three others are only partially implemented, and the agencies have not addressed the risks 11 other recommendations had sought to resolve.

By implementing eight of our recommendations, the museum strengthened its art inventory planning and practices — as well as its database controls — to better account for and protect all objects in its care. The museum also added a mayoral appointee to its governing board, creating a stronger connection and communication with the city. Finally, the museum’s board implemented more transparent practices for its committee that identifies potential new members, and the board updated its bylaws to reflect current practices.

Remaining Risks

The 14 recommendations the Denver Art Museum, the Mayor’s Office, and the Controller’s Office did not fully implement — including the one recommendation they did not agree to implement at the time of the original audit — present several lingering risks. Among them:

• The museum and the Mayor’s Office still lack an operating agreement that includes clear rights, responsibilities, and asset ownership that addresses gaps identified in the original audit.
• The city cannot ensure it has identified and can fully track assets that are owned by the city but stored at the Denver Art Museum.
• The museum cannot ensure all badges are identified and deactivated.
• The museum’s emergency response plan remains in draft form and lacks key elements recommended by leading practices.
• The board’s ability to add diversity among its board and committee members, as well as communicate clear attendance expectations for its board members, is still insufficient.

Auditor's Letter

December 7, 2023

In keeping with generally accepted government auditing standards and Auditor’s Office policy, as authorized by city ordinance, we have a responsibility to monitor and follow up on audit recommendations to ensure city agencies address audit findings through appropriate corrective action and to aid us in planning future audits.

After following up on the “Denver Art Museum” audit report issued in January 2021, we determined the Denver Art Museum, the Mayor’s Office, and the Controller’s Office did not implement almost half of our recommendations. Of the 21 recommendations they agreed to implement, 10 recommendations remain not implemented, eight are fully implemented, and three are only partially implemented.

During the original audit, we found existing agreements insufficiently documented fundamental elements of the relationship between the city and the museum, and the city had not properly accounted for some of its assets at the museum. The audit was also impaired because museum officials restricted the team’s access to complete reports in the museum’s collections management system, ARGUS. Meanwhile, we found some documented guidance for collections inventories and emergency response was inconsistent with actual procedures and lacked some key elements recommended by leading practices. We also identified three ways the museum’s board of trustees could improve its governing activities.

Based on our follow-up work, we determined the Denver Art Museum, the Mayor’s Office, and the Controller’s Office did not fully address all the risks associated with our initial findings. Consequently, we may revisit these risk areas in future audits to ensure the city takes appropriate corrective action.

We did not update the status of the one recommendation the Denver Art Museum and the Mayor’s Office disagreed with about developing a new operating agreement, as we presume they took no related action. We include the recommendation in this report as a reference.

We appreciate the leaders and team members at the Denver Art Museum and in the Mayor’s Office and the Controller’s Office who shared their time and knowledge with us throughout the audit and the follow-up process. Please contact me at 720-913-5000 with any questions.

Denver Auditor's Office


Timothy O'Brien, CPA

AUDITOR TIMOTHY O'BRIEN, CPA
Denver Auditor

Denver Auditor´s Office

201 W. Colfax Ave. #705 Denver, CO 80202
Email: auditor@denvergov.org
Call: 720-913-5000
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