Auditor Randall Defends Audit Of CVB; Says She Has No Ties To Visitors Bureau

  • Wednesday, June 21, 2017

County Auditor Jenneth Randall on Wednesday morning went before the County Commission defending her audit of the Chattanooga Visitors Bureau.

Commissioner Tim Boyd earlier said a critical audit by a staff member of the auditor's office was never released, but a milder version was issued.

Ms. Randall said audits "must be independent, unbiased and objective."

She said the staff member who made the report is not a certified public accountant as she is.

His work, she said, "went beyond the scope of the requested information."

She said it did not have responses from CVB officials. She said she met with the CVB before submitting the official audit.

Ms. Randall said the staffer's report, including items about CVB travel that she said were not fully examined to find out reasons for the travel, "should never have been disclosed."

She said it stated that no financial reports had been filed by the agency, but she said it had.

Saying she has no ties to the CVB, she said, "I definitely don't have an agenda.

"I will not sign an audit report that is not complete or doesn't meet professional standards."

Here is the full statement of Ms. Randall:

I’m Jenneth Randall, and I have been the County Auditor for Hamilton County Government since November 17, 2016. My office is located at 117 E. 7th Street.

Thank you Mayor and Commissioners for allowing me time to discuss the official audit report of the  Chattanooga Convention and Visitor’s Bureau (dated February 22, 2017), and the related news accounts dealing with that audit. Funding to the CVB and its reporting was mandated by Hamilton County Resolution No. 207-27.

I hope to address the various questions that have surfaced since the public release of this official audit report.

Please keep in mind that the County Auditor’s Office must be independent and unbiased in its reporting.

The official audit report that was issued had been reviewed by two (2) internal certified public accountants. The employee who was assigned to work on this audit, and who subsequently distributed the internal notes ---- is not a certified public accountant.

In May of 2016, this same employee advised me (as his supervisor) that written CVB reports had not been filed with Hamilton County Government (as required by Resolution No. 207-27).  That statement was included in the official audit report.   

I recently contacted the County Clerk’s Office and they confirmed that they do, in fact, have audited financial statements from the CVB for all eight (8) years.  I also spoke with the Mayor’s Office who confirmed that they also have these same financial statements.    It was incorrect for the employee and for me to state that no reports were filed with Hamilton County Government.   

Additionally, the CVB has given updates on tourism at public meetings, on their website, in newspapers, in electronic media, and through other resources. 

I’d like to explain to you something about audits……

            -an audit is limited by the scope of the requested work…

-the internal notes that have been made public went beyond the scope of the requested work…

We are required to follow Audit Standards prior to issuing a report— those standards have to be independent, unbiased, and objective.  I assure you that the official audit complies with these standards.

According to audit standards, before any kind of official audit report is released, the audited entity (CVB) should be provided a draft report for discussion to help develop a report that is “fair, complete, and objective”.  It’s kind of like an exit interview. 

The employee’s internal document that was distributed was not discussed with the CVB nor was the CVB allowed to provide any feedback.  Please note that in February, 2017, I met with the CVB as required by Standards before the Auditor’s Office issued the official report that was ultimately signed by me.

In the released notes there is no evidence of audit work having  been done to explain the questioned travel expenses, such as, “Who traveled and the purpose of the travel?”, or “Was a conference room rented for a meeting?”,  or  “How many potential customers were present?”    

These are some of the reasons why the released NOTES are incomplete and should never have been released.

I did not go to college two years and night school for eight years, then study another 2-1/2 years to be a Certified Public Accountant in order to risk my career and reputation for any entity.

I have no personal ties with the CVB; I know no one who works there; and I have no political agenda. I have worked in the accounting field for over 40 years, the last 26 years being with Hamilton County Government, specifically 25 years in the County Auditor’s Office.

I can assure you that I will not sign an official audit that is incomplete or does not meet professional Audit Standards.

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