Broken Arrow City Council
Meeting of: 11-18-2019
Title:
title
Consideration, discussion, and possible approval of the creation of a Finance Audit Committee
End
Background:
On March 30, 2018, the City received a Report on Best Practices for Financial Operations from Crawford and Associates. The report has been a guide for developing updated policies and procedures for the Finance Department. To date the Finance Department has adopted policies regarding:
? Internal Control Framework
? Purchasing Cards
? Cash Receipts/Revenues/Receivables
? Payroll
? Timeliness of completion of financial audit reports
? Staff Training
? Fund Balance Required Reserves
One of the proposed items in the report was the establishment of an audit committee. The report recommended the committee consist of at least one City Council member and external individuals with finance-related backgrounds.
The Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) recommends that every state and local government establish an audit committee or its equivalent. The recommendation is that the committee should be established by a resolution or other appropriate legal means. The written documentation establishing the audit committee should describe the scope of the committee's responsibilities, as well as its structures, processes and membership requirements. The committee should periodically review such documentation no less than once every five years.
To determine action items for the audit committee the staff has contacted both the City of Edmond and the City of Norman. Below is a summary of duties for each City's committee:
Edmond:
Finance and Audit Committee - The committee consists of the City Treasurer as Chair and two members of the Governing Body. Monthly meetings are scheduled, but typically the committee meets 4 to 8 times annually. The committee has only recommending authority to the City Council.
Duties inc...
Click here for full text