GFOA Municipal Accounting and Auditing Best Practices Workshop Internal Audit in Local Government Gail Stephens, CEO BC Pension Corporation

1. Leave every place a little better than you found it.

2. You can’t stomp your feet when you are on your knees.

3. Know the objectives.

4. Nothing ever happens until somebody sells something.

5. Every deficiency is rooted in the violation of some principle of good management.

6. Never believe what the first person tells you.

7. The best question is: “As manager, how do you satisfy yourself that…..”

8. Politics and culture will usually win over rules and regulations.

9. When you point your finger, make sure your fingernail is clean.

10. Murphy was an optimist.

Independence Internal Auditor Reporting to Council Internal Auditor Reporting to Management

Role of the Audit Committee is a Critical One Oversight of financial reporting and disclosure Review of internal and external audit findings Evaluation of the adequacy and effectiveness of internal controls Assessment of the organizational risk and risk mitigation strategies

Blue Ribbon Committee on Improving the Effectiveness of Corporate Audit The Audit Committee plays a key role in monitoring and oversight of management.

Blue Ribbon Committee on Improving the Effectiveness of Corporate Audit Independent communication and information flow between the audit committee and the internal auditor is important.

Blue Ribbon Committee on Improving the Effectiveness of Corporate Audit Independent communication and information flow between the audit committee and the external auditor is important.

Blue Ribbon Committee on Improving the Effectiveness of Corporate Audit Candid discussions with management, the internal auditor, and the external auditor regarding issues implicating judgment and impacting quality is required.

Blue Ribbon Committee on Improving the Effectiveness of Corporate Audit Finally, and equally important to the first four principles, is that committee members be diligent and knowledgeable.

Reporting to Council Keep it simple Do not over dramatize Be prepared Gain perspective Win management over

Media and the Public Have a communication strategy Work with management Practice, practice, practice

As Katherine Graham once said: “To love what you do and feel that it matters, how could anything be more fun.”

Questions