WANT TO KNOW THE LAST TIME YOUR ANC WAS AUDITED?
Unfortunately, I was wrong. Very wrong.
As I was looking for ANC 8C's latest audit report it became clear that there were not a lot of new audit reports on the auditor's website. In fact, only one ANC audit report was posted on the auditor's website in 2012 -- there are currently 38 Advisory Neighborhood Commissions throughout the city. As I went through the list of audit reports, it became pretty clear, pretty quick that most ANCs were not being audited every two years as was required. That realization made me wonder (and frankly worry), so I spent the next three hours putting together a simple chart of all the ANC audit reports posted on the DC Auditor's website (sorted by year). I didn't have time to review all the audit reports but I did look at a few for Ward 8 and included a few notes. I was particularly surprised to see that although some audit reports revealed serious financial deficiencies (either due to mismanagement, administrative issues, or theft) there did not appear to be an effort to do a subsequent and timely audit. For example, In 2006 the DC auditor's office discovered the theft of nearly $50,000 by an ANC 7D commissioner yet does not appear to have conducted another audit (or at least posted it online) since the 2006 audit. You would think that after such a significant theft of tax payer funds, the Auditor's office would pay special attention to the ANC, at the very least perform the standard two year audit.
I'm no accountant so I am not going to try and speculate or judge if audits are being performed frequently enough to be considered effective but I will say that as a tax payer if ANC audits are supposed to be performed every two years then I don't understand why the audits are not being conducted. Commissioner terms are for two years and most ANC officer terms are for one year. Without the valuable information found in the audits how can we as residents know if our ANCs and its officers (like the treasurer) are doing their duties properly? How do we as residents know if the rules are being followed? How do we know that tax payer funds are being protected? To be fair, the DC Auditor does put together an Annual Report on Advisory Neighborhood Commissions every year and that report does provides some basic information but it is not an audit.
In short, who is watching the store and when are they watching it? Wouldn't we want to avoid a repeat performance of what happened in ANC 5B in 2012? Shouldn't there have been warning bells before William Shelton embezzled nearly $30,000 of the ANC's funds over two years leaving the bank account with only $7.11? The time to close the barn door is not after all of the horses have run away, it's before. ANC 5B was last audited in 2006.
I assembled all of the ANC audit reports that were posted on the DC Auditor's website into one table. You can click on the ANC name to view the audit report. For the life of me I don't understand how 4, 5, 6, and sometimes 7 years was was allowed to go between audits. This is a huge deficiency in safeguarding tax payer funds. I'm not saying that all ANCs are bad or that commissioners are not honest and hardworking people but we should take extra care -- at least the required care -- to ensure they are getting the support they need, if they need it.
On second thought, the reason why my ANC was last audited in 2008 was because members of my single member district demanded an audit. Maybe that is what it takes, concerned citizens making a fuss.
As the saying goes, "knowledge is power."
ANC
|
AUDIT YEAR
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FISCAL YEARS
AUDITED
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2012
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2009 - 2011
|
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2011
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2008 – 3/2011
|
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2011
|
2008 – 3/2011
|
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2011
|
2008 – 3/2011
|
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2010
|
2008 – 3/2010
|
|
2010
|
2008 – 3/2010
|
|
2010
|
2008 – 3/2010
|
|
2009
|
2007 – 3/2009
|
|
2009
|
2007 – 3/2009
|
|
2009
|
2007 – 3/2009
|
|
2009
|
2005 – 3/2008
[OIG investigation requested re: $12K in questionable
checks]
|
|
2009
|
2006 – 3/2009
|
|
2009
|
2007 – 3/2009
[audit conducted at the request of 8C residents & CM
Alexander re: questionable payments]
|
|
2009
|
2007 – 3/2009
|
|
2009
|
2005 – 3/2008
|
|
2008
|
2005 – 3/2008
|
|
2008
|
2006 – 3/2008
|
|
2008
|
2006 – 3/2008
|
|
2008
|
2006 – 3/2008
|
|
2008
|
2006 – 3/2008
|
|
2007
|
3/2005 – 12/2006
[grant awards only]
|
|
2007
|
2004 – 3/2006
|
|
2007
|
2004 – 3/2006
|
|
2007
|
2005 – 3/2007
|
|
2007
|
2005 – 3/2007
|
|
2007
|
2005 – 3/2007
|
|
2007
|
2005 – 3/2007
|
|
2007
|
2005 – 3/2007
|
|
2007
|
2005 – 3/2007
|
|
2007
|
2005 – 3/2007
|
|
2007
|
2005 – 3/2007
|
|
2007
|
2005 – 3/2007
|
|
2006
|
2004 – 3/2006
|
|
2006
|
2004 – 3/2006
|
|
2006
|
2004 – 3/2006
|
|
2006
|
2004 – 3/2006
|
|
2006
|
2004 – 3/2006
|
|
2006
|
3/2005 – 1/2006
[$49,800 misappropriated by treasurer]
|
|
2006
|
2003 – 3/2005
[checking account frozen, FY 2003 + FY 2004 were forfeited
-$36k+]
|
|
2006
|
2003 – 3/2005
|
|
2005
|
2003 – 3/2005
|
|
2005
|
2003 – 3/2005
|
|
2005
|
2003 – 3/2005
|
|
2005
|
2003 – 3/2005
|
|
2005
|
2003 and 2004
|
|
2005
|
2003 and 2004
|
|
2005
|
2003 – 3/2005
|
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2004
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2000 – 6/2003
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2004
|
2000 – 3/2003
|
|
2004
|
2001 – 6/2004
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2004
|
2000 – 3/2003
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2003
|
1999 – 6/2002
|
|
2003
|
2000 – 3/2003
|
|
2003
|
1999 – 3/2003
|
|
2003
|
2000 – 3/2003
|
|
2002
|
10/1/98 – 9/30/01
|
|
2002
|
10/1/99 – 12/31/01
|
|
2002
|
10/1/1998 – 9/30/2001
|
|
2002
|
10/1/1998 – 9/30/2000
Follow-up Audit for FY 1999 and 2000
|
|
2002
|
10/1/99 – 12/31/01
|
|
2002
|
10/1/98 – 6/30/02
|
|
2002
|
2000 – 3/2002
|
|
2002
|
2000 – 3/2002
|
|
2002
|
10/1/98 – 9/30/01
|
|
2002
|
6/1/98 – 9/30/01
|
|
2002
|
10/1/98 – 12/31/01
|
|
2002
|
1999 – 3/2002
|
|
2001
|
10/1/1997 – 8/31/2000
|
|
2001
|
10/1/98 – 9/30/00
|
|
2001
|
10/1/98 – 9/30/00
|
|
2001
|
10/1/98 – 9/30/2000
|
|
2001
|
1999 – 12/31/2000
|
|
2001
|
1999 – 12/31/2000
|
|
2001
|
1999 – 12/31/2000
|
|
2001
|
1999 – 12/31/2000
|
|
2000
|
Investigation into 2 unauthorized checks totaling $2,500
|
|
2000
|
10/1/95 – 9/30/99
|
|
1999
|
10/1/97 – 9/30/98
OIG investigation requested into payments to Chairman/admin
officer & personal expenditures. Auditor notes missing financial reports
|
|
1999
|
10/1/95 – 12/31/97
|
|
1999
|
9/1/96 – 7/31/98
|
|
1999
|
Auditor’s Review Unauthorized and Improper Transactions of
7C’s Chairperson
|
|
1999
|
10/1/95 – 9/30/98
|
|
1999
|
Auditor’s Review of Unauthorized Transactions Pertaining
to ANC 1A
|
|
1998
|
1994 - 1997
|
|
1998
|
ANC 4D Funds Diverted to Deceased Husband of Former ANC 4D
Treasurer
|
|
1998
|
10/1/93 – 12/31/96
|
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