City Auditor’s Office recommends incorporating contract selection recommendations into written procedures

NEWS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: September 26, 201

The City Auditor’s Office released an audit focusing on whether contract selection practices previously recommended by the City Auditor’s Office have been incorporated into citywide, written policies and procedures. The contract selection audit recommendations we reviewed focused on four areas:

• Ethics and transparency;
• Contract solicitation;
• Contract selection committees; and
• Solicitation review and negotiation.

The audit concluded that most of the contract selection practices previously recommended by the City Auditor’s Office had not been fully incorporated into written procedures. The original recommendations were directed towards addressing previous audit findings of contract selection practices that exposed the city to claims of bias; caused confusion among the selection committee; and cast doubt on the credibility and integrity of the contract selection process.

The auditors did not determine whether staff applied the practices when they performed contracting duties for the city, but whether management had communicated expectation in written procedures. Incorporating the practices into the city’s written policies and procedures serves as a training and reference guide for employees, encourages consistently in actions, provides continuity when employee turnover occurs, tells vendors and the public what to expect from the city, and helps ensure vendor confidence and public trust in city contracting processes.

The audit includes recommendations to fully incorporate into the city’s written procedures contract selection recommendations previously made by the City Auditor’s Office. Management agreed with the recommendations.

View the complete report at the City Auditor’s website on KCMO.gov. For more information, contact Douglas Jones, City Auditor, 816-513-3300