About the Office of Internal Audit

Our Vision

To be regarded as a valued resource by Council, Metro Management, staff and our audit clients by:

• Applying audit work effort commensurate with perceived risk
• Consistently identifying significant issues so there are no surprises
• Creating continuous early warning control monitoring mechanisms
• Improving the transparency of Metro operations
• Educating the Metro community on the importance of effective internal control measure and risk management
• Pursuing professional advancement and sharing knowledge and experience with Metro Management and our peers

Our Work

Performance Audits

A performance audit is not what most people think of when they hear the word audit. A performance audit is an independent assessment of how well an organization, department, process, etc. operates. Performance audits may evaluate effectiveness, efficiency, and internal controls. Areas of improvement are identified and communicated to management.

Performance audits must be approved by the Metropolitan Audit Committee for the annual audit work plan. The annual audit plan runs February-December. However, changes can be made by the Audit Committee at any time. If you have any ideas or requests for audits, please reach out to us at [email protected].

Investigations

An investigation may include investigating potential violations of governance policies established for the Metropolitan Nashville Government or potential fraud, waste, and abuse. Investigation requests are received from management of the Metropolitan Nashville Government or from tips received. Investigations may be started at any time. If you have concerns about fraud, waste, or abuse, submit either an Office of Internal Audit Reporting Form or a HubNashville Form.

Follow Up Audits

Performance audit reports result in recommendations to management. Management identifies an implementation plan and reports back implementation to the Office of Internal Audit. Once all report recommendations are implemented, the Office of Internal Audit will perform a follow-up audit to ensure the recommendation implementation appropriately addresses the risks identified.

Special Requests

Special requests are rarely performed. However, the Office of Internal Audit may be engaged to answer specific questions or concerns raised by the Audit Committee. The work performed will only answer specific questions and offer no conclusions or recommendations. The scope of work is strictly the agreed upon area.

Our Standards

• The Office of Internal Audit follows Government Auditing Standards (GAGAS) or more commonly known as the “Yellow Book.”
• The audit standards we follow help ensure our work is independent and free of bias. The standards inform how we hire and train staff. They include requirements for how we do our work, review our work, and report results. Every three years, other auditors audit our process to let us know what we are doing right and what we can do better in a Peer Review Report.

Department Reports

Annual reports are submitted to the Metropolitan Council. The annual Audit Plan is approved by the Audit Committee. All audits performed by the Office of Internal Audit are published and presented to the Audit Committee.

Audit Reports by Department