4 Internal controls assessment Based on the controls identified and tested, we have determined that there is reasonable evidence to indicate that:
| # 1 |
Objective | Report classification | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Optimally Controlled |
Managed | Some Improvement Opportunity |
Major Improvement Opportunity |
Unacceptable Risk Exposure |
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| The City has spent money on road clearing with due regard for economy and efficiency and has satisfactory procedures for measuring and reporting on the effectiveness of contractor performance. |
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| 2 | The City has clearly established contractors performance objectives for road clearing/maintenance, and the objectives were based on reasonable, researched and approved factors. |
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| 3 | The City has monitoring and reporting mechanisms in place to determine if the performance objectives are being attained and meeting its intended results. |
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| 4 When the intended results of the road clearing | were not being met, the City has taken actions to remediate. |
During the audit, we noted the following good practices implemented by Public Works - Operations.
Operations has established a Winter Maintenance Manual and updates the manual annually. The manual documents operations objectives, level of services and specifies city and contractor’s responsibilities during the winter season.
● Tracking Winter Control Contractor Hours procedure was developed and implemented by the Technical Team, which is designed to compile the hours which the City pays the contractor for.
● A Technical Team, which is independent from Supervisors and Contractor Coordinators, prepares detailed reports by truck and by date based on information collected from supervisors logs, time cards and GPS data. These reports serve as a basis for the monthly progress certificates.
To ensure the contractor equipment was in good working condition and ready for the season, Operations collected contractor equipment calibration reports prior to the start of the two seasons we audited.
We identified areas where internal control weakness exists, however, none were noted as a significant control deficiency. If implemented, our recommendations would serve to provide greater financial accuracy, operational effectiveness and better leveraging of existing technology capabilities.
Management has provided comprehensive action plans, which we believe will address the deficiencies noted. Below we provide a summary of the findings noted as part of our work: