HomeMy WebLinkAboutAudit 2017-09-25
AUDIT COMMITTEE MINUTES
SEPTEMBER 25, 2017 CITY OF KITCHENER
The Audit Committee met this date commencing at 3:32 p.m.
Present: Mayor B. Vrbanovic - Chair
Councillors S. Davey, F. Etherington, Y. Fernandes, B. Ioannidis, Z. Janecki, S. Marsh,
P. Singh and D. Schnider.
Staff: D. Chapman, Chief Administrative Officer
M. May, Deputy CAO, Community Services
M. Goldrup, Interim, Deputy CAO, Finance & Corporate Services
J. Readman, Interim Executive Director, Infrastructure Services
C. Fletcher, Interim Executive Director, Infrastructure Services
C. Tasker, Internal Auditor
D. Saunderson, Committee Administrator
1.FCS-17-010 - THIRD QUARTER AUDIT STATUS REPORT
The Committee considered Finance and Corporate Services Department report FCS-17-010,
dated September 18, 2017 regarding the Third Quarter Audit Status Report. Ms. C. Tasker
presented the Report, which included a comprehensive review of the Revenue Division. She
advised the following items are currently going through a review process, including: By-law
Enforcement – Property Standards, process / capacity review; Fire Administration, process /
capacity review; and, Winter Maintenance, comprehensive audits, which will be brought
forward at a future Audit Committee meeting.
Ms. Tasker provided an overview of the Audit including the methodologies and various phases
undertaken in the review process, including: literature review of relevant internal and external
documents; consultations with staff and internal stakeholders; risk assessment; benchmarking;
organizational structure review; workload / capacity assessment; Consultant-led Lean review;
and Assessment of alignment with FCS Service Strategy.
Councillor S. Marsh entered the meeting at this time.
Ms. Tasker advised a total of 13 recommendations were developed in this review, which
included a Lean Action Plan and an additional 23 activities related to process improvements,
including the understanding and documenting processes to ensure efficiency. She indicated
the review critically looked at a variety of Revenue processes, resulting in recommendations
that focused on enhancing effectiveness and efficiency, reducing waste and increasing
capacity. She stated the Lean Action Plan strives to add more value from the customer’s
perspective while eliminating non-value added tasks. She further advised the organizational
structure changes will better align roles and responsibilities, and allow for more effective
coverage of absences, noting the overall changes will position the division to meet future
challenges such as population growth and new service trends such as e-services.
In response to questions, Ms. Tasker agreed to follow-up with staff on the possibility of
creating a partnership between Revenue and the Community Centres as a means of
increasing awareness on e-billing services.
It was suggested as a possible way to address the longer wait times for Customer Service
representatives, consideration be given to adding some additional features, such as a call back
feature, or a que position indicator.
2.FCS-17-012 - SERVICE REVIEW PRIORITIES
The Committee considered Finance and Corporate Services Department report FCS-17-012,
dated September 11, 2017 regarding the Service Review Prioritization 2018 Internal Audit
Work Plan. Ms. C. Tasker presented the Report noting the requests made this date will be
considered for inclusion in the 2018 Service Priority review.
Questions were raised regarding the Appendix; Ms. Tasker advised Appendix A is a complete
list of all the services provided by the City. She indicated the list that was generated in 2016 of
the service reviews are in priority order. She noted the grey highlighted items were recently
completed and would not likely benefit from further review at this time. She stated the items at
AUDIT COMMITTEE MINUTES
SEPTEMBER 25, 2017 - 5 - CITY OF KITCHENER
2.FCS-17-012 - SERVICE REVIEW PRIORITIES (CONT’D)
the top of the list are likely the next candidates for service reviews in 2018, subject to input
from staff and Council. In response to questions, Ms. Tasker endeavoured to provide further
qualifying information on whether risks were associated with any specific function from an
auditing perspective.
Members offered the following suggestions for the 2018 Internal Audit Work Plan:
Completing an audit on Special Events, on the understanding that the Division’s work
involves a significant amount of coordination, and events within the City continue to
grow;
Item 12 - INS - Facility Planning, Project & Energy Management, Building Maintenance
& Repair, completing this review in 2018 could assist with informing the Business Plan
for the 2018-2022 Council Term;
Item 31 - Economic Development, noting with the current growth projections for the City,
it may be beneficial to review the work processes, etc. related to the Division;
Item 36 - INS - Administration, due to the significant changes that have occurred in the
department recently; and,
Item 10 - Parking Enterprise, review processes to ensure the City is maximizing the
revenue opportunities.
3.ADJOURNMENT
This meeting adjourned at 4:19 p.m.
D. Saunderson
Committee Administrator