Item - 2023.AU1.2

The Audit Committee recommends that:

1. City Council receive the Auditor General’s 2023 Work Plan for information.

The Auditor General and Deputy Auditor General gave a presentation on the Auditor General's Office 2023 Work Plan.

The purpose of this report is to provide City Council with an overview of the work the Auditor General plans to conduct in 2023. Audit projects included in the Annual Work Plan are identified through a risk assessment process conducted periodically, a review of emerging issues, and a review of trends in allegations made to the Fraud and Waste Hotline. The Auditor General also considers the views and experience of City Councillors and City management. The Auditor General may amend the Annual Work Plan if new priorities arise.

The Work Plan is intended to be flexible, allowing the Auditor General to respond to Council requests and emerging issues, including the need to assign resources to high-risk investigations, when needed. The Work Plan is organized as follows:

- projects currently in progress or soon to be initiated (Table 1);

- projects on the horizon for 2024 (Table 2); and

- backlog list of projects that we would like to complete over the longer term (Attachment 3).

Where Council requests additional audits be added to the Work Plan, the Auditor General considers potential risks to the City before deciding whether it can be prioritized over another project on her Work Plan. Addressing Council requests for additional audits immediately is not always feasible given limited staff resources, so the Auditor General must prioritize the projects she can carry out in a given year versus those that need to be deferred into future years.

The attached report provides Audit Committee with information on the Auditor General's 2023 Operating Budget request of $7.350 million, which is consistent with the Auditor General’s 2022 Operating Budget. The Auditor General’s 2023 Operating Budget represents approximately 0.045 percent of the City’s 2023 Proposed Operating Budget.

The Auditor General's budget request reflects resources needed to address her 2023 Work Plan. More specifically, the Auditor General will continue to carry out her mandate by:

- delivering high-priority audit projects on the Auditor General’s Work Plan that yield both quantifiable and non-quantifiable benefits to how the City delivers its services

- providing valuable independent oversight of critical systems to ensure the City is well-positioned to detect, mitigate, and respond to IT and cybersecurity risks

- conducting high-risk investigations that help address and deter fraud, waste, and wrongdoing in the City.

This report is being provided to Audit Committee for information as it considers the Auditor General's 2023 Work Plan at the February 13, 2023 Audit Committee meeting.