Travel Expenses Follow-up Report

Image of a breakfast meal, an icon of a car, a door hanger and a stair access with a no entry sign.

While the Controller’s Office implemented five recommendations we made in the “Travel Expenses” audit report, six others have yet to be acted upon or fully implemented.

The Controller’s Office removed all discontinued and inactive forms related to official travel from the city website, it required all city agencies to use the city’s system of record, it revised the fiscal rule for travel and its related procedure, it created job aids and training for how to enter expense reports and calculate per diems, and it improved the monthly reconciliation process.

However, it did not take several actions to address other potential risks we identified in our original audit. Specifically:

  • The Controller’s Office did not include all recommended best practices in its updated fiscal rule and related procedure.
  • Neither the fiscal rule nor the related travel procedure says how often it should be reviewed.
  • The office’s new communications strategy does not ensure all city employees receive regular updates about the travel policy and that they also receive information about noncompliance.
  • There is no requirement for all employees to take the city’s new training course before they travel on official city business.
  • The Controller’s Office has not developed, collected, monitored, and analyzed key performance metrics to determine trends in noncompliance — nor has it provided agencies with guidance on corrective action, as we recommended.

By not fully addressing all the recommendations, the Controller’s Office may be exposed to future risk.

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Auditor's Letter

March 3, 2022

In keeping with generally accepted government auditing standards and Auditor’s Office policy, as authorized by city ordinance, the Audit Services Division has 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.

In our follow-up effort for the “Travel Expenses” audit report issued in October 2020, we determined the Controller’s Office did not implement about half of the 11 recommendations we made in the original audit report. The office fully implemented only five recommendations. It partially implemented three recommendations and did not implement another three. Therefore, the risks associated with the audit team’s initial findings have not been fully mitigated. As a result, the Audit Services Division may revisit these risk areas in future audits to ensure the city takes appropriate corrective action.

The Highlights page in this report provides background and summary information about the original audit and the completed follow-up effort. Following the Highlights page is a detailed implementation status update for each recommendation.

I would like to express our sincere appreciation to the personnel in the Controller’s Office who assisted us throughout the audit and the follow-up process. For any questions, please feel free to contact me at 720-913-5000.

Denver Auditor,

Auditor's Signature
Timothy O'Brien, CPA

 

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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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