Denver Auditor’s Peer Review Confirms Highest Auditing Standards

Published on June 06, 2022

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DENVER – The Denver Auditor’s Office successfully passed its Denver Charter-required peer review once again, Auditor O’Brien announced this week. A "pass" is the highest level of assurance a peer review can give.

"It’s important that we hold ourselves to the same high standards we expect to find at the government agencies we audit," Auditor O’Brien said. "People often ask: who audits the auditors? Peer review is the process for that."

Denver Charter requires that the Auditor’s Office conduct peer reviews of audit work to ensure adherence to Generally Accepted Government Auditing Standards. Auditors from other cities are tasked with reviewing our audit work, our evidence, and other factors like our policies and procedures, independence, and staff training.

"The peer review is important because people often say they don’t know what the Denver Auditor does — so how can they know they can trust the reports we produce," Auditor O’Brien said. "This is one of the checks and balances that shows our work is sound and meets the required standards."

Peer reviews typically happen every three years, but the 2022 review encompassed audit work from 2019 through 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Auditors from Arizona, Missouri, and Oregon reviewed:

• Written policies and procedures.
• Internal monitoring procedures.
• A sample of audit engagements and working papers.
• Documents related to independence, training, and development of audit staff.
• Interviews with staff and management to assess their understanding of and compliance with quality control policies and procedures.

Peer reviewers found that the "internal quality control system was adequately designed and operating effectively to provide reasonable assurance of compliance with Government Auditing Standards and applicable legal and regulatory requirements for audits."

"Our audit work is the highest tier of professionalism, independence, and accuracy," Auditor O’Brien said. "Our audits are regularly recognized nationally. This peer review is yet another assurance to the public that we are doing the best work on their behalf."

The peer review program is coordinated through the Association of Local Government Auditors, which says it has performed more than 500 peer reviews for audit organizations and typically does about 45 per year.

Read more about the 2022 Peer Review

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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