Specialty Teams
ACQUISITION AND CONTRACT MANAGEMENT
Are you interested in ensuring Virginia receives the services it pays for? That your tax dollars are not being wasted on frivolous contracts with unscrupulous parties. If so, read more ...
BUDGETING AND PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT
Are you interested in learning where the state spends your tax dollars? Would you like to play an integral role in maintaining transparency and accountability in Virginia’s government? If so, read more ...
CAPITAL ASSET MANAGEMENT
Would you have liked to have seen the John Paul Jones arena before it was opened to the public? Do you want to know why a highway construction project is taking three months longer to complete than you were told? If so, read more ...
DATA ANALYSIS
Do you like providing people with the information they need to do their jobs? Are you interested in gathering information from a variety of sources and piecing that information together so it is useful? If so, read more ...
FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT
Would you like to know how Virginia manages both its investments and debt? Are you interested in learning more about how Virginia invests state lottery proceeds or the retirement plans of its employees? If so, read more ...
HIGHER EDUCATION PROGRAMS
Did four years of college go by too fast? Do you enjoy the comfort of the college campus or the excitement of the university setting? Would you like to tell your college administrators how they could do their job better? If so, read more ...
INFORMATION SYSTEMS DEVELOPMENT
Do you enjoy following projects through to their completion? Are you interested in the development of new information systems? Would you like to play an integral role in ensuring the Commonwealth keeps pace in a rapidly changing information technology environment? If so, read more ...
INFORMATION SYSTEMS SECURITY
Would you like to know how Virginia keeps your personal information protected? Do you want to help the state safeguard its information systems and data? Are you interesting in ensuring Virginia’s government is capable of responding to threats or disasters of all sizes? If so,read more ...
JUDICIAL SYSTEMS
Do you enjoy a fast-paced environment or meeting new and interesting people? Are you interested in learning more about the Commonwealth’s judicial system being the first to know about new laws and how they impact you and those you know; and learning more about local government operations? If so, read more ...
REPORTING AND STANDARDS
Would you like to be on the cutting edge of your profession? Would you enjoy being the first one in your office to learn about changes that affect everyone else? Do you like sharing your knowledge with others and being someone that your coworkers rely on? If so, read more ...
SOCIAL AND MEDICAL SERVICES
Would you like to learn more about the critical health care issues facing our country today? Are you interested in ensuring Virginia’s social programs operate as efficiently as possible, so that more resources go to those citizens who need them? Or maybe you like clean drinking water or knowing which restaurants you should avoid? If so, read more ...
ACQUISITION AND CONTRACT MANAGEMENT
Our team supports prudent contract administration within the Commonwealth by providing those responsible for procurement and contract administration with analysis of financial information and best practices related to contractual services. We review and analyze the effectiveness, efficiency, and economy of various contractual services. Our team takes special interest in monitoring and evaluating long-term contracts such as the Commonwealth Infrastructure Partnership between the Virginia Information Technologies Agency and Northrop Grumman.
Our team seeks to train and develop experienced procurement and contracting experts through both internal and external sources. Team training begins with the Virginia Contracting Officer Program, which provides all team members with a basic working knowledge of Commonwealth procurement law and regulations. The team places additional emphasis on the development of its team members’ ability to research and identify best practices in various contracting environments and in project management. Team members are also encouraged to become Certified Public Accountants.
BUDGETING AND PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT
The Budgeting and Performance Management Team focuses on individual agencies’ performance management and on the Commonwealth’s budget, which totals more than $40 billion per year. Performance management includes activities to ensure that state government as a whole is consistently working in an effective and efficient manner. Team members monitor budget and performance issues that affect the Commonwealth by attending meetings of the General Assembly and the Council on Virginia’s Future.
Team members receive training in budgeting and performance management to develop and maintain specialized knowledge in these areas. We use this knowledge to train and educate other staff to help them identify, evaluate, and report financial management issues that are risks to the Commonwealth.
Our team consists of individuals with varying backgrounds, including accounting and public policy. Team members participate in a wide variety of assignments including yearly budget analysis, performance measurement audits, general agency audits, and specialty team projects.
Our recent specialty team projects include:
- Review of performance measures for executive branch agencies
- Review of the Budget Development Process, which entails an audit of the Department of Planning and Budget
- Analysis of agency budgets for APA risk analysis
- Review of Non-General Fund Revenue Forecasting
- Review of Statewide Budget and Appropriation Processing Controls
The Commonwealth has emerged as a leader in performance management in government. As a member of this team, you will play a vital role in improving government transparency and accountability in Virginia.
The Capital Asset Management Specialty Team’s main objective is to ensure the proper management, control, and valuation of
- capital assets
- infrastructure
- depreciation
- preventive, corrective, and deferred maintenance
- leases and installment purchases
- historic treasures
Our team bases its work on a life-cycle approach to capital asset management and accomplishes our objectives through both financial and performance audits.
We audit the financial recording and reporting of Virginia’s $26.3 billion in capital assets reported in the Comprehensive Annual Financial Report. This work focuses on the acquisition, capitalization, depreciation, and disposal of assets. The majority of this work occurs at the Department of Transportation on the highway infrastructure and across the Commonwealth at agencies and institutions of higher education for building construction projects.
In our performance audits, we look for opportunities in state government to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of processes related to capital assets. Our team reviews areas such as fleet management, deferred maintenance, energy performance contracts, and capital outlay. We then research industry best practices and compare them to current practices and recommend ways to bring the Commonwealth’s practices into alignment with best practices, which results in increased efficiency and improved effectiveness.
Our team members enjoy some unique opportunities due to the nature of our audits. While observing assets, team members have seen powerful microscopes, medical equipment as large as an entire room, and machines that measure brain activity. Team members see completed construction projects before the public, including the times our members toured John Paul Jones Arena at the University of Virginia and the Virginia Tech Alumni Conference Center before their grand openings. With exclusive access inside buildings, tunnels, and under bridges, team members are Capital Asset VIPs!
To enable the team to accomplish its objective, team members receive training in all specialty areas. The team seeks to have every member become a Certified Construction Contracting Officer. In addition, team members receive training on the Commonwealth’s fixed asset and lease systems and in the areas of accounting and financial reporting for capital assets, life-cycle analysis, facility maintenance and management, and project management.
By developing and retaining qualified and skilled staff, the team is able to support the Office in its requirement to audit the Commonwealth’s Comprehensive Annual Financial Report and ensure agencies and institutions of higher education are properly managing and capitalizing their fixed assets, buildings, infrastructure, and leases.
Our mission is to increase the efficiency, effectiveness and timeliness of projects performed by the office through the automation of data retrieval, analysis and storage. Our objective is to provide the office with the necessary resources and innovative ideas for obtaining and analyzing reliable data from various systems. We promote integrated auditing throughout the office by offering assistance and training to all staff members. In addition, we strive to ensure all related professional standards are satisfied in the performance and documentation of all engagements.
TEAM GOALS:
- Implement continuous auditing
- Perform timely, relevant and efficient data retrieval
- Ensure professional standards, regarding proper documentation and storage of electronic evidence are satisfied
- Maintain, update and create audit and analytical tools
- Maintain training to keep abreast of changing technology
- Promote office training and provide support to all specialty teams
- Perform special projects to meet the ongoing office needs
Our mission is to analyze and understand significant financial management-related activities within the Commonwealth, to reduce related risk, and ensure that financial information is reported properly to the citizens of Virginia. We accomplish this mission by ensuring team members possess the progressive knowledge necessary to develop and implement audit programs for cash, investments, actuarial, and debt management for the Commonwealth.
The Financial Management specialty team audits on an annual basis:
- Approximately $73 billion in cash and investments
- Approximately $34 billion in debt
- Wide variety of investment services contracts
Some of the major projects of the Financial Management team include:
- Statewide Cash & Investments projects to audit the cash and investment operations at agencies such as the Virginia College Savings Plan, Virginia Retirement System, and the Department of Treasury
- Statewide Debt Management projects to audit the debt management of agencies such as the Department of Transportation and the Department of Treasury
- Statewide Self-Insurance & Risk Management Funds projects to audit risk and insurance management at agencies such as the Department of Human Resource Management and the Department of Treasury
- Financial Management projects to identify financial management deficiencies and recommend best practices for the Commonwealth’s agencies
- Reviewing and commenting on preliminary views and exposure drafts from the Governmental Accounting Standards Board and Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board (MSRB)
Financial Management Professionals with the team gain experience in the following:
- Cash management
- Investments
- Securities lending
- Municipal debt
- Risk management and insurance
- And other critical financial areas
Financial statement opinion audits of colleges and universities comprise about one-fourth of our Office’s annual work plan. The Higher Education Programs Specialty Team provides guidance to auditors performing these audits as to the special nature of college and university business operations, and develops a core of knowledgeable auditors to assist in the completion of these audits. Specialty team members participate both as auditors and consultants to complete the audits of the Commonwealth’s 15 state-supported colleges and universities that our Office performs yearly.
By specializing in higher education audits, team members develop best practices both in audit planning and in techniques for these engagements, and in the financial operations of institutions of higher education. The team also provides training and guidance to APA staff on college and university financial reporting and compliance issues, as well as current industry changes. Additionally, the Higher Education Programs Specialty Team provides specific audit guidance in Student Financial Aid, Research and Development, and NCAA compliance issues.
INFORMATION SYSTEMS DEVELOPMENT
Our teams primary objective is to follow systems development projects throughout their systems development life cycle. State agencies and institutions spend an increasing amount of resources on system development projects each year. Many of these projects have run over budget (either time or money), while others resulted in failure. A major goal of our team is to determine if and when a project may not be progressing as planned, and alert any critical decision makers to this information, thereby mitigating the potential for failure at the earliest point possible. The typical progression for following a project is as follows:
- Meet with members of the project team and review project documentation.
- Attend project meetings and review project schedules to ensure the system is on track and on budget.
- Document the project’s progression in our internal document management system.
- If the project requires corrective action, you and the audit director will determine the proper method to communicate this information; typically this takes the form of a letter or audit report.
- Continue following the project’s progress until it is officially closed out or determined to be a successful implementation.
Some of the projects we are currently following include:
- Radford University’s information system project, Banner
- Alcoholic Beverage Control’s new inventory and point of sale systems
- Department of Transportation’s Roadway Network Systems
- The Virginia Community College System’s statewide PeopleSoft implementation
The mission of the Information Systems Security Team is to provide timely and relevant information addressing the security of information and computing resources at all organizational levels in the Commonwealth to the citizens and lawmakers of Virginia.
We achieve our mission by performing audits of state agencies and institutions of higher education. We design our audits to evaluate the effectiveness and compliance of the information systems security plans and policies and procedures within mainframe, distributed (client-server) and network environments.
The team performs three types of audits:
- Audits to provide assurance that information technology security controls are sufficient to protect financial data and systems at state agencies and institutions of higher education in support of financial statement audits
- Compliance audits with Commonwealth information technology security standards
- Special studies regarding information security controls throughout the Commonwealth
The Information Systems Security Team provides opportunities to gain analytical knowledge on many information technology topics and auditing standards. Team members are encouraged and rewarded for obtaining industry-recognized certifications, such as the Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA), Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP), and Certified Public Account (CPA).
If you have an Accounting, Computer Science, or Information Systems degree and are interested in the fields of auditing and information systems, please contact us for more information.
Virginia’s Court System:
- Oldest Judicial System in the country
- Collects approximately $1 billion annually
- Commonwealth Court sizes range from as few as one full-time clerk to as many as 150 full-time clerks and related staff
Regions: the courts are divided into regional teams for administrative purposes. Each team is headed up by a local team leader responsible for training and assigning staff to the various court audits.
Travel: While Judicial Systems team members live throughout the Commonwealth, overnight travel is required.
General Team Functions:
- Responsible for comprehensive audits of the Commonwealth’s 320 courts: Circuit; General District; and Juvenile and Domestic Relations. This work includes reviews of internal controls, system financial information, and court procedures for consistency and propriety.
- Special focus included for Commonwealth Magistrates; General Receivers; Constitutional Officer State Accounts; and turnover of office assets at changes of elected Treasurers and Clerks of Circuit Court.
Team Positions:
- Auditor: staff in the preliminary training stages, where each is teamed up with a more experienced staff member and exposed to all aspects of the audit areas.
- Specialist: staff in the intermediate working stages, where each can perform a court audit without direct supervision and assist in the training process for new audit staff.
- Senior Specialist: staff in the more experienced working stages, where each can now assist in the review process and take on supervisory duties.
Testimonials:
Hampton Roads Team Member: The tasks for my position are always changing and there is a lot to learn. I like moving from court to court where I don’t have to go to the same place day after day.
Southside Team Member: When I interviewed, I was most excited about the travel. Being from a small town, I was excited about exploring new places and meeting new people. Also as an auditor, your presence is rarely desired and I enjoy transforming that perception into a successful, professional relationship.
The Reporting and Standards Specialty Team is responsible for ensuring the Office is following the applicable auditing standards and understands the accounting standards the Commonwealth must follow. We achieve this objective by:
- Monitoring and responding to the issuance of exposure drafts of new auditing and accounting standards
- Updating the Office’s Audit Manual
- Developing and updating the Office’s audit tools
- Providing information to APA staff via training and newsletters
- Serving as a technical resource for staff
- Reviewing pending legislation for issues relevant to accounting and auditing at the state and local level
Local Government Oversight…
Our team ensures that local governments and their auditors are informed of and follow applicable accounting and auditing standards by:
- Preparing and distributing annual local government guidelines
- Updating the local government audit specifications for requirements unique to Virginia
- Serving as a resource for local governments in the implementation of new standards
We also prepare and present the annual Comparative Report of Local Government Revenues and Expenditures.
Audit Variety…
Our team’s knowledge of auditing and accounting standards affords us the opportunity to work on a variety of projects, including financial statement audits, performance audits, and special projects. Below are some of the projects on which our team members have recently participated:
- Virginia’s Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR)
- Department of Taxation
- Virginia Lottery
- Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT)
- Virginia College Savings Plan
- Social Services
- Virginia Employment Commission
Audit Quality…
We are responsible for ensuring the office complies with nationally recognized auditing standards. To ensure our audit work meets these standards, throughout the year we perform quality control reviews on a select number of audits our Office conducts. We also perform quality control reviews of auditors of Virginia’s local governments since our Office has oversight over the local government audit process.
The Social and Medical Services specialty team welcomes anyone who has worked in the healthcare industry, who has a degree in accounting or a health-related field, or who simply has a genuine interest in healthcare. Our specialty team addresses health-related issues affecting both the federal government and, of course, the Commonwealth of Virginia. Virginia has nine agencies in its Health & Human Resources secretariat. These agencies are responsible for administering hundreds of health-related state and federal programs. We primarily audit and follow the activities of these agencies:
Virginia spends about $40 billion each year. The Health and Human Resource agencies account for 25 percent of that total.
The Social and Medical Services specialty team addresses a variety of issues. Most relate to how our clients manage their operations but we are not limited in the breath of topics we cover, as our team has written recommendations in the following areas:
- Grants Management
- Federal Compliance
- Eligibility Determination
- Strategic Planning
- Segregation of Duties
- Application Controls
- Budgetary Controls
- Risk Management
- Business Planning
- Board Governance
- Financial Reporting
- and much, much more!
So if you’re looking for a specialty team with variety and diversity of issues and plenty of opportunities for new comers, join the Social and Medical Services Specialty Team!