Item - 2020.AU5.2

The Audit Committee recommends that:  

1. City Council receive the report (January 27, 2020) from the Auditor General for information.

The following City staff gave a presentation to the Audit Committee on this Item:

- Ina Chan, Assistant Auditor General

- Niroshani Movchovitch, Senior Audit Manager

This report provides information on the Auditor General's Office 2019 activities and financial and non-financial benefits.

In 2019, the Auditor General's Office completed 14 performance audits, investigations, and reviews, and issued several other reports. We also conducted our regular follow-up process for outstanding recommendations and managed the City's Fraud and Waste Hotline.

The Auditor General's Office calculates the return on every dollar invested in the Office by comparing the ratio of five-year audit costs to the cumulative estimated five-year realized savings. Since 2015, total one-time and projected five-year cost savings and revenue increases are approximately $318.8 million. The cumulative costs of operating the Auditor General's Office since 2015 were approximately $27.6 million. For every $1 invested in the Auditor General's Office, the return on investment was approximately $11.5.

The identification of cost savings and increased revenue is only one component of the Auditor General's mandate. Equally important is the ongoing evaluation of governance, risk management and internal controls, the impacts of which are not always easily quantified in financial terms.