REPORT' Meeting Date: April 19,201 2 Audit Committee

Transcription

1 REPORT' Mting Dat: April 19,201 2 Audit Committ For Information DATE: March 21,2012 REPORT TITLE: FROM: Paul Wallis, CMA, CIA, CISA, Dirctor, Intrnal Audit OBJECTIVE To inform Audit Committ of th rsults of th TransHlp Audit. ram is bing managd ffctivly. vouchrs and vhicl parts. DISCUSSION I. Background Th Intrnal Audit Risk Basd Work Plan for 2011 to 2013 includs an audit of th oprations of TransHlp. Th Transportation Division's mission is to provid, oprat and support a multi-modal ntwork and srvics that mt th volving transportation nds of Pl. Accssibl Transportation supports this mission by dlivring a "Family of Srvics" modl to support individuals with all typs of disabilitis in Pl. TransHlp, foundd in 1981, is on of th componnts of this modl, and provids accssibl, door-to-door transportation srvics to ligibl Pl rsidnts with varying disabilitis. Th TransHlp srvic is dlivrd using a combination of buss ownd and opratd by th Rgion, through xtrnal taxi vndors and partnrships with community agncis. Incrasing capacity availabl through accssibl transportation srvics is a Trm of Council Priority (TOCP). Som of th initiativs undrtakn by Accssibl Transportation to addrss this TOCP includ an updat to thir Mastr Plan, incrasd hours of opration to match convntional transportation's srvic and improvd cross bordr transportation for clints.

2 March 21, 2012 q. -2- Th following tabl illustrats th lvl of growth within th Accssibl Transportation division sinc 2006: Accssibl Transportation providd approximatly 397,000 trips in 2010 and 431,000 trips in 2011, with a majority of ths dlivrd undr th TransHlp program. Dmand for TransHlp srvic has xprincd larg growth ovr rcnt yars and is xpctd to incras annually by 8 prcnt. This audit was conductd in accordanc with th Intrnational Standards for th Profssional Practic of Infrnal Auditing. 2. Audit Objctivs and Scop Th objctiv of th audit was to valuat th adquacy and ffctivnss of th intrnal controls, procsss and procdurs in plac to mitigat th businss risks associatd with managing an accssibl transportation opration. Audit Scop: Spcifically, th audit focusd on valuating th fficincy and ffctivnss of ky controls in mitigating risks rlating to: Contract managmnt for accssibl transportation srvics providd by xtrnal vndors and community partnrs on bhalf of th Rgion. Paymnt procssing, account rconciliation, collctions and writ-offs. Eligibility and application procss for TransHlp srvics. Contingncy planning to nsur continuous srvic dlivry. TransHlp vhicl maintnanc and parts invntory. Training, licnsing and vulnrabl sctor scrning. 3. Audit Obsrvations Ovrall, th TransHlp program is bing managd ffctivly. Improvmnts ar rquird to strngthn administrativ support procsss such as paymnt procssing, collctions and invntory managmnt activitis for Taxi Scrip vouchrs and vhicl parts. Opportunitis xist to strngthn contract provisions with community partnrs to nsur th intrsts of th Rgion ar protctd. Intrnal Audit will follow-up on th status of outstanding Managmnt Action Plans rlatd to this audit and will rport th status to th Audit Committ.

3 March 21, 2012 q& -3- Throughout th audit, managmnt partnrd with Intrnal Audit to addrss th obsrvations, suggstd valu addd idas and proactivly implmntd solutions. W would lik to thank managmnt and staff for thir nthusiasm and coopration. Contract Managmnt Opportunitis xist to strngthn contract provisions with community partnrs to nsur Accssibl Transportation has th flxibility to mt thir srvic dlivry objctivs in th most fficint and ffctiv mannr. Standard trms and conditions that ar documntd in contracts with xtrnal vndors should also b incorporatd into contracts with community partnrs. Procsss should also b nhancd to nsur that all rquirmnts idntifid in th contract ar rcivd, such as proof of insuranc, and mt th conditions as rquird by th contract. Managmnt rcognizs that a formal structur to manag contracts nds to b in plac and ar working with Lgal Srvics to dvlop nw contracts with community partnrs. Paymnt Procssing Accssibl Transportation dos not hav th appropriat tools to ffctivly and fficintly manag and procss clint paymnts. Intgrating th thr paymnt procssing systms would provid opportunitis for improvd controls and fficincis. Currnt practics for procssing crdit card paymnts can b improvd to support Paymnt Card Industry Data Scurity Standards (PC1 DSS). Corporat Srvics Businss Improvmnts and Solutions tam has stablishd a projct to rviw PC1 across th Rgion and dvlop solutions to addrss any gaps. Th TransHlp program's businss procsss will b rviwd as part of this projct. Thr is also a nd to improv: Th collction procss for clint accounts in arrars. Th sgrgation of dutis in th rcipt and procssing of mail paymnts. Controls for vrifying and scuring saf contnts. Managmnt will b valuating thir paymnt procssing activitis as part of th PC1 complianc projct and is working with Corporat Financ to dvlop a collction stratgy, policis and procdurs. TransHlp Eligibility and Clint Databas Managmnt Dmand for accssibl transportation is incrasing and srvic improvmnt initiativs including xpandd oprating hours hav bn implmntd. Srvic dlivry was found to b ffctiv. Opportunitis xist to formally stablish procsss to priodically rviw program ligibility rquirmnts. This will hlp nsur that Pl rsidnts ar providd accss to programs undr th Family of Srvics modl that will bst suit thir nds. Procsss for improving th managmnt of inactiv usrs in th clint databas wr also idntifid, including formally stablishing procdurs for valuating a clint's futur nd for srvic aftr on yar of inactivity and sttling account balancs. Managmnt idntifid that th dsign and rviw of program ligibility rquirmnts is going to b an important focal point as thy continu to dvlop and implmnt thir Mastr Plan. Formal procsss for managing th clint databas will also b dvlopd.

4 March 21,2012 +a -4- Invntory Managmnt Accssibl Transportation's flt maintnanc activitis ar ffctivly managd. Howvr, currnt invntory managmnt practics to mitigat th risk of thft for Taxi Scrip vouchrs and vhicl parts can b improvd. Efficincis can b gaind by implmnting an invntory managmnt systm to kp rcords of thir invntory including quantity of stock on hand, ordring, tracking, and issuanc. ~anagmnt has idntifid th nd to acquir, implmnt and dvlop procsss to nsur invntory is ffctivly managd. Flt srvics will tak ovr th managmnt of TransHlp's vhicl parts invntory whn Accssibl Transportation movs into thir nw facility this fall. As part of th ovrall paymnt procssing rviw, managmnt will invstigat altrnativ paymnt solutions for th Taxi Scrip program. Systm Accss Control Th intgratd transit systm usd by Accssibl Transportation and th Customr Contact Cntr contains prsonal clint information, including contact dtails, crdit card numbrs and mdical conditions. Usrs do not hav th ability to chang thir own systm passwords. Implmnting a procss to conduct systm accss rviws to validat that usr accss is still appropriat and nsuring thr is a sgrgation of Systm Administrator and Oprational systm dutis will strngthn accss controls. Managmnt rports that th nwst vrsion of th intgratd transit systm will hav improvd password controls and will b implmntd in th nar futur. Procsss for dissminating passwords will b rviwd, and th Systm Administration function will b clarifid with Information, Systms & Tchnology Srvics (ISTS), with rols and rsponsibilitis formalizd accordingly. Drivr Abstracts Accssibl Transportation monitors th status of mploy drivr licnss to nsur only activ, licnsd mploys oprat TransHlp and othr Rgion ownd vhicls. Opportunitis xist to formaliz procdurs for addrssing mploys who hav bn issud Highway Traffic Act (HTA) infractions. Managmnt will work to dvlop and formaliz procdurs. Continuous lmprovmnt Initiativ Th TransHlp lmprovmnt Program (TIPS) is a program implmntd by Accssibl Transportation to solicit fdback for improving clint srvic and suggstions for workplac improvmnts. All submissions ar trackd, suggstd solutions discussd and action plans dvlopd and trackd to monitor progrss. Accssibl Transportation has rportd that sinc th TIPS program has bn implmntd, improvmnts in srvic quality has bn rcognizd by both staff and clints.

5 March 21, Paul Wallis, CMA, CIA, ClSA Dirctor, Intrnal Audit Approvd for Submission: D. Szwarc, Chif Administrativ Officr For furthr information rgarding this rport, plas contact Paul Wallis at xtnsion 4557 or via mail at paul. wallis@plrgion. ca. Authord By: Joan Applton, CGA, CIA, CRMA and Kvin Shapiro, CIA. c. Lgislativ Srvics