The ABCs of auditing
You could probably consider this a sidebar to my next story about a Rhinos official detailing where all the PAETEC Park money went ...
The state Comptroller's Office is still definitely researching the possibility of conducting an audit of the stadium's finances. However, just because state officials are pondering an investigation doesn't mean an audit is forthcoming.
"We are in the midst of gathering the facts associated with this case but have not made a decision as to whether we're going to conduct an audit," Comptroller's Office spokesman William P. Reynolds wrote in an e-mail last week.
Rochester Mayor Bob Duffy asked the state to audit the stadium. Although PAETEC Park is a private venture, the state Comptroller has the authority to investigate the project because it's using public money — millions of it.
However, I was curious about what, exactly, an audit means and what purpose it would serve, and Reynolds filled me in a little.
"Audits are conducted on the basis of risk," he said this week. "We conduct risk assessments to determine whether or not an audit is warranted."
The Comptroller's staff gathers information from members of the public, public officials and — really? — the media, and researchers review various financial statements. They also check to see if a previous audit of the project in question has been conducted and, if so, what the findings were.
Reynolds said his office conducts hundreds of audits each year, and they all have a clear goal.
"The purpose of an audit is to help provide municipalities and agencies guidance on where deficiencies are and how they can be addressed for the sake of improving operations and making the best use of public monies," Reynolds said.
That all sounds pretty innocuous. But this doesn't: "Audits also help to uncover abuse or fraud," Reynolds added, "or, in cases where persons have been charged with a crime by local law enforcement agencies, determine the value of the public resources that may have been stolen."
Yikes.
Of course, we can't assume that any such nasty business went down over at the soccer stadium, which segues nicely into my next post, which I'll preview here with a comment from a high-ranking Rhinos official I talked to today.
"An audit will show that state funds went where they were supposed to go," the official said.
The state Comptroller's Office is still definitely researching the possibility of conducting an audit of the stadium's finances. However, just because state officials are pondering an investigation doesn't mean an audit is forthcoming.
"We are in the midst of gathering the facts associated with this case but have not made a decision as to whether we're going to conduct an audit," Comptroller's Office spokesman William P. Reynolds wrote in an e-mail last week.
Rochester Mayor Bob Duffy asked the state to audit the stadium. Although PAETEC Park is a private venture, the state Comptroller has the authority to investigate the project because it's using public money — millions of it.
However, I was curious about what, exactly, an audit means and what purpose it would serve, and Reynolds filled me in a little.
"Audits are conducted on the basis of risk," he said this week. "We conduct risk assessments to determine whether or not an audit is warranted."
The Comptroller's staff gathers information from members of the public, public officials and — really? — the media, and researchers review various financial statements. They also check to see if a previous audit of the project in question has been conducted and, if so, what the findings were.
Reynolds said his office conducts hundreds of audits each year, and they all have a clear goal.
"The purpose of an audit is to help provide municipalities and agencies guidance on where deficiencies are and how they can be addressed for the sake of improving operations and making the best use of public monies," Reynolds said.
That all sounds pretty innocuous. But this doesn't: "Audits also help to uncover abuse or fraud," Reynolds added, "or, in cases where persons have been charged with a crime by local law enforcement agencies, determine the value of the public resources that may have been stolen."
Yikes.
Of course, we can't assume that any such nasty business went down over at the soccer stadium, which segues nicely into my next post, which I'll preview here with a comment from a high-ranking Rhinos official I talked to today.
"An audit will show that state funds went where they were supposed to go," the official said.
posted by Ryan Whirty at
10:59 AM
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