Internal Auditor

Office of Internal Audit
The Internal Auditor reports to the Mayor and City Commission. The Auditor provides reports and updates to the City's Audit Committee. The Audit Committee is appointed by the City commission and is composed of two City Commissioners, one HWW Board appointee, one Harlingen Airport Board appointee and a City of Harlingen Resident.
The Internal Auditor has the responsibility of conducting audits of City activities and programs.


Mission
The mission of Internal Audit is to provide an independent assessment of financial, contractual, operational and environmental matters by conducting objective and professional evaluations of City operations to assist management in meeting prudent internal control standards and operational efficiencies. (City Ordinance 08-25, Section 1, Article 3)

Objective

The Internal Audit department is committed to the highest professional standards for conducting audits in government as promulgated by the Comptroller General of the United States and published by Government Auditing Standards (GAS).

Independence

The Internal Auditor adheres to the general standard of independence by Government Audit Standards 3.02, which states:
"In all matters relating to the audit work, the audit organization and the individual auditor, whether government or public, must be independent." (GAS 3.02)
Auditors should be independent from an audited entity during any period of time that falls within the period covered by the subject matter of the audit and the period of the professional engagement. (GAS 3.05)

The Internal Auditor reports to the Mayor and the City Commission, which places the position organizationally outside the staff or line-management functions of all auditable units. Audit results are reported to the Mayor, Audit Committee and City Commission, who are charged with governance. The Internal Auditor has access to those charged with governance and is able to conduct audits and report findings, opinions and conclusions without fear of political reprisal (GAS 3.31)

THE AUDIT PROCESS

Internal audit conducts performance audits of City departments and activities. Performance audit reports can identify opportunities to improve internal controls, reduce costs, increase revenues or to use City resources more effectively.

All performance audits are performed in compliance with Generally Accepted Government Auditing Standards. Those standards require that we plan and perform each audit to obtain sufficient, appropriate evidence to provide a reasonable basis for our findings and conclusions based on our objectives.

The audit process follows three general phases:

Planning - the auditor gains an understanding of the activity to be audited and identifies risks. Audit activities may include interviews and reviews of applicable policies and procedures, laws, ordinances and other documentation deemed relevant to the audit.
Fieldwork - the auditor performs specific tests and analyses of data to gather sufficient and appropriate evidence to support findings, conclusions and recommendations. The auditor and department management work together to develop recommendations that are useful to the department and City.
Reporting - the auditor prepares the audit report from the evidence gathered during fieldwork. A draft report is reviewed with the management so that the facts and recommendations can be reviewed and confirmed.  Management prepares responses to the audit recommendations, which are included within the final audit report that is submitted to the Mayor and Audit Committee for approval.

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