Item - 2017.AU9.14

The Audit Committee recommends that:

1.  City Council receive the report (June 13, 2017) from the Auditor General for information.

On an annual basis, the Auditor General reviews the implementation status of outstanding audit recommendations and reports the review results to the City Council through the Audit Committee.

This report provides information regarding the implementation status of audit recommendations issued to City divisions in Cluster B. This report also provides information on the potential cost savings from outstanding audit recommendations relating to Cluster B divisions in response to a motion adopted by the Audit Committee at its July 4, 2016 meeting.

From January 1, 2011 to December 31, 2015, the Auditor General issued 14 reports to City divisions in Cluster B containing a total of 154 recommendations. Four of these recommendations are no longer applicable due to either re-organizations or changes to business practices. Of the remaining 150 recommendations, City divisions in Cluster B have implemented, as of May 2017, 85 per cent or 128 of the applicable recommendations.

A total of 31 outstanding recommendations from divisions in Cluster B were included in the 2017 follow-up review. Among the 31 recommendations, our review verified that seven recommendations (23 per cent) have been fully implemented, 22 (76 per cent) either reported by management or determined by our review as not fully implemented, and two recommendations are no longer applicable.

Continued efforts to implement outstanding recommendations will provide additional benefits to the City such as cost savings, improved controls, and enhanced service delivery.

Many of the City divisions in Cluster B have undertaken a significant amount of work to implement the audit recommendations. While a number of the audit recommendations have not been fully implemented, we recognize that some of our recommended changes require significant system or process changes hence necessitating a longer time frame for full implementation.

We express our appreciation for the co-operation and assistance we received from management and staff of City divisions in Cluster B during this year's follow-up review process.