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Office of the Internal Auditor
Overview
Internal Auditing is an independent, objective assurance and consulting
activity designed to add value and improve an organization’s operations.
It helps an organization accomplish its objectives by bringing
a systematic, disciplined approach to evaluate and improve the effectiveness
of risk management, internal control, and governance processes.
During the performance of any audit, Compliance and Audit shall maintain
objectivity and integrity, shall be free of conflicts of interests, and
shall not knowingly misrepresent facts, or subordinate their judgment to
others.
The Compliance and Audit department performs compliance, operational, and
financial audits.
- Compliance and operational audits conducted by the department
generally relate to economy and efficiency of operation, whether
resources are being used economically and efficiently, whether
good management practices are being followed, and whether there
has been compliance with applicable policies, laws, and regulations.
Such audits, for example, may consider whether a unit:
- Is following sound procurement practices.
- Is properly utilizing its personnel to achieve a high level
of performance and is avoiding duplicated effort, overstaffing,
and ineffective management practices.
- Is complying with institutional policies.
- Is complying with applicable laws and regulations that may
affect the acquisition, protection, and use of institutional
resources.
- Is achieving satisfactory results in the performance of its
assigned functions.
- Financial audits include financially-related reviews. The audit
of the institution’s basic financial statements is performed
on an annual basis (year ending June 30) by the Florida Auditor
General. Financially-related reviews may include (but not limited
to) audits of the following items:
- Segments of financial statements
- Statement of Net Assets
- Statement of Revenues, Expenses and Changes in Net Assets
- Statement of Cash Flows
- Expenditures for specific programs or services
- Internal control systems as they relate to accounting, reporting,
and transaction processing
- Computer-based systems and EDP controls.
- Specific processing systems such as cash collections, payroll,
and accounts payable.
- Special investigations involving fraud or serious violations
of policy.
Mission
The mission of the Compliance and Auditing Department is to promote the
most economical and efficient use of resources; to ensure compliance with
institutional policies, as well as, federal and state laws and regulations;
to protect the institution’s assets; to deter and detect fraud, theft,
and abuse; to promote accountability throughout the institution, and to
promote the reliability and integrity of the institution.
Authority
The Compliance and Auditing Department reports directly to the District
Board of Trustees, with the authority to review and appraise all policies,
processes, systems, and operations and to recommend any corrective actions
necessary. The department has no direct authority or responsibility for
the activities it audits. The department works independently, so that its
work can be carried out freely and objectively, with impartial and unbiased
judgments – essential to the proper conduct of audits.
Compliance and Auditing personnel shall have full, free, and unrestricted
access to all institutional systems, functions, operations, records, activities,
properties and personnel. In the performance of audits and with full consideration
of safekeeping and confidentiality, all appropriate arrangements shall be
made when examining and reporting on confidential items.
Although a common courtesy, Compliance and Auditing staff is not required
to give notice prior to performing an audit.
In compliance with the Generally Accepted Government Auditing Standards
set forth by the United States General Accounting Office and the Standards
for the Professional Practice of Internal Auditing set forth by the Institute
of Internal Auditors, the Compliance and Auditing Department does not have
the authority to implement or insist on the implementation of its recommendations.
Implementation is ultimately the decision of management.
Responsibility
It is the responsibility of the Compliance and Auditing Department to develop
and execute a comprehensive risk based audit plan for the institution. All
audits conducted by the department will be performed with the highest of
standards including honesty, objectivity, diligence and loyalty, as required
by the District Board of Trustees.
One of the primary responsibilities of Compliance and Auditing is to evaluate
the adequacy of the systems of internal control to ensure that the systems
established provide reasonable assurance that the institution’s objectives
and goals will be met efficiently and economically. The Compliance and Auditing
Department will identify those activities subject to audit coverage, based
upon their significance and the degree of risk inherent in the activity
in terms of cost, special requests by the Board of Trustees and Administration
of the institution, and areas where non-compliance with guidelines could
result in severe penalties to the institution.
The Compliance and Auditing Department will produce the results of audit
examinations, including recommendations for improvement via audit reports.
The department will appraise the adequacy of the action taken by Management
to correct reported deficiencies. The Compliance and Auditing Department
will report to the District Board of Trustees several times during each
fiscal year. During this time, interim reports will be provided to the Board
regarding the status of “Audits in Progress” and “Completed
Audits.”
The Compliance and Auditing Department also has the responsibility of facilitating
internal and external audit efforts. This is done to ensure adequate audit
coverage and to minimize duplicate efforts.
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