Report 2011-504 Recommendation 17 Responses

Report 2011-504: High-Speed Rail Authority Follow-Up: Although the Authority Addressed Some of Our Prior Concerns, Its Funding Situation Has Become Increasingly Risky and the Authority's Weak Oversight Persists (Release Date: January 2012)

Recommendation #17 To: High-Speed Rail Authority, California

To ensure that the regional contractors' monthly progress reports provide sufficient detail to support the monthly invoices, the Authority should perform a monthly comparison of the regional contractors' invoices with the corresponding progress reports. Specifically, the Authority should ensure that the regional contractors' monthly progress reports describe the work they performed in those areas for which they claimed costs in the corresponding invoices. The Authority should discuss with the Program Manager any areas that lack sufficient detail in the progress reports to make such determinations.

6-Month Agency Response

According to the Authority, to ensure that sufficient detail is provided in the regional contractors' monthly progress reports and that the program director adequately documents any reporting deficiencies noted in the review of the progress reports and invoices, the audit office's work plan includes scheduled audits of the regional contractors' monthly progress reports and invoices and the Program Manager's and oversight consultant's activities. The audit office reports directly to the Audit and Finance Committee of the Authority's board and administratively to the chief executive officer. (See 2013-406, p. 246)

California State Auditor's Assessment of 6-Month Status: Fully Implemented

All Recommendations in 2011-504

Agency responses received after June 2013 are posted verbatim.