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April 1, 2010
The Municipal Auditor General, Larry Munroe, was hired in September, 2009. The first responsibility of the Office of the Auditor General (OAG) is to the public. In addition, HRM’s Auditor General provides assistance to Regional Council in holding itself and the Administration accountable for the sound administration of HRM’s financial accounts and transactions and achieving value for money in the operation of the Municipality.
As is customary with Offices of the Auditors General, the HRM Auditor General will, on an independent basis, develop and carry out an annual work plan. The reports of the work plan component will be presented to Regional Council at least annually in a public forum.
In order to support the annual work outcomes of the Office of the Auditor General, the staff of the Business Systems and Quality Assurance group will join his Office. Through their work in this division, Cathie Osborne, David Marr, and Sang-gye Buschmann have played significant roles in the ongoing improvement and accountability of our internal service delivery and operations. This wealth of HRM operational knowledge and experience will contribute significantly to the success of the Office of the Auditor General.
Therefore, effective April 1, 2010, Cathie, David, and Sang-gye will join the OAG. Please join me in wishing them all the best in their new roles with the Office of the Auditor General.
Thank you
Mike Labrecque P.Eng,
Deputy Chief Administrative Officer, Corporate Services and Strategy
(c) (902) 476-9684
(w)(902) 490-4630
labrecm@halifax.ca
May 15, 2008
Ever wonder how an Internal Audit Shop decides what to do? This month we are working on developing a 5 year audit plan. Creating a five year plan takes a lot of time but in the end it is worthwhile.
Using a risk assessment process, we consider every program, service or activity carried out in HRM and evaluate and assign a level of organizational risk of high, medium or low. We identify things that could possible go wrong, what is the likelihood of them happening and if they occurred, what would be the impact to the organization. We get input and feedback from the managers/employees of the business units in order to accurately reflect the risks and opportunities faced by the organization. This process creates a priority list from High-High to Low-Low. With limited resources, we focus on those areas with the greater risk or opportunity.
Then we present our draft plan and obtain approval from the CAO and Audit Committee of Council before assigning resources and creating detailed work plans. We will circulate and post the Audit Plan for the next year so that the organization is aware of what work we will be doing and be able to plan accordingly.
Of course, we do retain capacity to respond to unplanned issues and we are always busy.
We hope to post the final audit plan by the end of June.
March 1, 2008
We were very sorry to have to say goodbye to Robin Harvey this month as she has moved on to Regional Police, Bylaw Services where I am sure she will excel. Replacing Robin, is Nazia Munir. Nazia joins us from Regional Police, Bylaw Services in the temporary position of Analyst Auditor. Nazia's background in history and adult learning will fit well in the BSC team. Nazia can be reached at 490-6475. Welcome aboard Naziz!
May 16, 2007
I am very pleased to welcome David Marr, Andrea Falconer and Robin Harvey to the team of Business Systems and Control, Chief Administrative Office, as of May 2007.
David will be joining us on May 22, 2007, as a Business Consultant from the BPIM - Information Technology, Customer Care section where David was Manager. Prior to this, David worked as an Account Representative assigned to the Public Safety Group. Previous to this David was with IT in the City of Dartmouth.
Andrea Falconer also joins us on May 28, 2007, as a Business Consultant from Finance Accounting but prior to this Andrea was a Community Standards Officer with Community Development and a former police officer with Halifax Police Services.
Robin Harvey joined us on April 23, 2007, from BPIM - Civic Addressing Project for a nine month term position as Analyst-Auditor. Robin has also worked in the field of Archeology and GISS.
The Business Systems and Control office is located on the 3rd Floor of Duke Tower. David can soon be reached at 490-4806. Andrea can soon be reached at 490-1388. Robin can be reached at 490-6475. Cathie Osborne can be reached at 490-4093.
March 12, 2007
Business Systems & Control is a wonderful place to learn about the whole organization! Regrettably for BS&C, Cathie Barrington has accepted the Position of Manager of Councillor Support Office. We wish her all the best in her new endeavours.
February 12, 2007
Business Systems and Control is pleased to announce that Stephanie Wright has accepted a term position as Analyst Auditor with our section. Stephanie brings solid experience in a variety of areas such as procurement and revenue, using a variety of organizational software. Stephanie will provide analytical assistance to the division while becoming familiar with the technique and profession of internal auditing. Welcome Aboard!
May 15, 2006
Cathie Barrington joins the HRM Business Systems and Control Group as Business Consultant.
Cathie brings to the position experience as an internal auditor with the Department of National Defence and the former City of Ottawa. Most recent, Cathie has been working on contract with a firm providing training to DND. Welcome Cathie!
Drop by to meet Cathie and view our "new digs" on the 3rd Floor of Duke Tower.
March 3, 2006
It is with regret that I say good bye to my co-worker, Abel Lazarus. Abel is leaving HRM to take on the position of Investigator with the NS Securities Commission Compliance and Enforcement Division. Our loss is their gain.
We wish him all the best in his new endeavors.
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