NASACT, in conjunction with the Association of Government Accountants and the Association of Local Government Auditors, is pleased to announce the latest in its series of training events addressing timely issues in government auditing and financial management.

Each year the National State Auditors Association recognizes outstanding performance audit report(s), forensic report(s), and special project(s) through its Excellence in Accountability Awards Program. This webinar will feature an overview of the 2014 winning entries. This year’s winners are:

Performance Audit (Large): Medical Marijuana Regulatory System (Part 1), Department of Revenue and Department of Public Health and Environment

In 2000, Colorado voters approved a constitutional amendment to legalize the medical use of marijuana, and in 2010, in response to an increasing number of marijuana storefronts, legislators enacted a regulatory scheme for businesses that grow and sell medical marijuana. In mid-2012, the Colorado Office of the State Auditor (OSA) planned an audit to examine both the business side and the patient side of medical use.

In November 2012, Colorado voters approved the recreational use of marijuana. When this happened, the audit team was far enough into the work of the audit to know that there were significant problems with the regulation of medical marijuana businesses. The OSA determined that it was important to issue audit findings on medical marijuana as soon as possible to help inform the development of laws and rules for recreational marijuana. The OSA adjusted the audit scope and prioritized work around the business side of regulating medical marijuana, and issued a report in March 2013, four months earlier than originally planned.

The audit report included 13 recommendations for significantly improving regulation of medical marijuana businesses. Overall, the audit report helped legislators, regulators and the public understand that the state did not have the strict regulation of medical marijuana in place that was generally thought to exist. The report generated significant media coverage, resulted in successful legislation to simplify medical marijuana business licensing, and influenced the rollout of recreational marijuana. The audit was instrumental in the successful passage of House Bill 13-1238. The bill simplified the state and local relationship in the business licensing process, which was a factor creating significant delays when issuing licenses.

Presenter: Nina Frant, Audit Manager, Office of the State Auditor (CO)

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Performance Audit (Small): Taxicab Authority – Nevada Department of Business and Industry

The Taxicab Authority was created by the Nevada Legislature to regulate the taxicab industry in Clark County, which includes Las Vegas. Given the importance of tourism in Clark County and the high usage of taxicabs, this audit focused primarily on the Taxicab Authority’s activities to help ensure proper oversight of taxicab company operations. The audit found:

• Weaknesses with the Taxicab Authority’s actions to prevent and detect long hauling. Long hauling occurs when a driver takes a longer route than necessary to increase the fare amount. The audit concluded that tourists were overcharged millions of dollars for taxicab trips, resulting in a negative experience while vacationing in Las Vegas.
• Weaknesses with the way taxicab medallion (the small metal plates affixed to taxicabs) allocations were determined and tracked. As a result, decision makers did not have sufficient information to ensure the appropriate number of taxicabs was operating in Las Vegas.

The audit report received nationwide coverage in the media, and strong agreement from the public. The audit was released during the Nevada Legislature’s 2013 session and was instrumental in the passage of legislation that requires the Taxicab Authority to collect and use a technology fee to develop computer systems that will help it regulate taxicab trips.

Presenter: Rocky Cooper, Audit Supervisor, Legislative Counsel Bureau, Audit Division (NV)

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Special Project: The Local Government Performance Center

Many local governments struggle to balance the service level their citizens expect with squeezed financial resources. Often, the most common challenges governments face have been resolved using proven tools and techniques, many of which are identified during performance audits. The Washington State Auditor’s Office created the Local Government Performance Center (Center) to help local governments reduce costs and improve results by applying lessons learned through performance audits.

The Center provides the following resources to help elected officials and managers find ways to be more efficient, effective and transparent:

• Online resources (including 150 tools focused on performance management).
• Training focused on logic models, performance measures, financial management, staffing analysis and process improvement/Lean.
• Assessments to evaluate how governments are tracking their performance.
• The Lean Academy, which includes workshops and strategies on process improvement.

Since its inception in June 2012, the Center has provided assistance to over 2,300 local government staff and governments are reporting real improvements to their processes and customer service. Local governments have already seen benefits that include:

• Decreased permit processing times in several counties by 50 percent.
• Improved rider notifications that decrease the number of calls to customer service representatives.
• Simplified travel policies and county payment processes.

The Center has more than doubled in size in the past year and has expanded available resources on Lean and financial management.

Presenter: Sheri Sawyer, Assistant Director, Local Government Performance Center, Office of the State Auditor (WA)

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Forensic Report: Cuyahoga Heights Local School District

In February 2011, a concerned member of the Cuyahoga Heights Local School District Board of Education contacted the Ohio Auditor of State’s fraud hotline to express concerns over IT equipment purchases. The allegations included related party transactions between the district’s IT director and members of his family, as well as goods and services being diverted to non-district operations.

The Ohio Auditor of State’s Office initiated a special audit that focused on payments made to vendors for IT equipment by the district’s former IT director. According to audit findings, the former IT director authorized 436 payments for a total of $3,844,155 to seven companies for which the district received no goods or services. These seven companies were owned or operated by family members or friends of the former IT director.

The special audit report was the driving force used by U.S. attorneys to secure a conviction of the former IT director and indictments of two additional men involved in perpetrating this theft of school district funds. Additionally, the school district made changes including holding it’s first-ever “community dialogue,” creating a new watchdog committee, implementing a new inventory system, training district employees on the Ohio Auditor of State’s fraud hotline, and hiring an independent consultant to analyze the district’s budget, cash flow and five-year forecast.

Presenter: Kevin Saionzkowski, Chief Auditor, Special Audit Section, Office of the Auditor of State (OH)

Date: Thursday, November 6, 2014

Time: 12:00 - 2:00 p.m. Arizona Time

CPE: Two credits

Learning Objectives
At the conclusion of this webinar, participants will be able to:

1. Identify audit techniques to result in high impact performance audits and special projects
2. Understand how these techniques were applied and what made them result in successful audits and special projects
3. Apply these techniques for high-impact audit in their own audit organizations

Level of Knowledge
Overview

Field of Study
Auditing (Governmental)

Location: Department of Administration General Accounting Office 100 N 15th Avenue Suite 302. Please remember to bring your State of Arizona badge to gain access through security.
**You may bring your lunch if you wish. Currently the ADOA Building does not have a cafeteria.
For a map, click here: http://www.mapquest.com/maps?city=Phoenix&state=AZ&address=100+N.+15th+Avenue&zipcode=85007

Parking information:
Please park on the lot north of the parking garage or the northeast corner of 15th Avenue and Adams. There are two disabled parking spaces in the visitor section of the garage and three disabled parking spaces in the northeast surface lot. These spaces are NOT restricted by the "2 Hour Visitor Parking" signs.

Registration Information: Space is limited, so reserve your place early
To register:
Visit YES at https://yes.az.gov
Sign in with your Username (your Employee ID Number) and your password.
Click on “Employee Training” under the “Home” tab in the leftmost column.
Then, click on “Registration by Category” under the “Employee Training” tab.
Next, click on “GAO Training & Events” in the “Categories” column.
Under “Courses,” click on the course “GAO110614”
Finally, click on Session number 1106.

CPE: Two credits

The National Association of State Auditors, Comptrollers and Treasurers is registered with the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) as a sponsor of continuing professional education on the National Registry of CPE Sponsors. State boards of accountancy have final authority on the acceptance of individual courses for CPE credit. Complaints regarding registered sponsors may be addressed to the National Registry of CPE Sponsors, 150 Fourth Avenue North, Suite 700, Nashville, TN, 37219-2417 or by visiting the web site www.nasba.org.

Please share this program announcement with others in your agency. Please be advised that this presentation may have limited interest and applicability to some State agencies. It is being offered to all State agencies as an opportunity for their employees to gain Continuing Professional Education (CPE) at no cost. Attendance is voluntary.