Section 403. City Auditor. The City Auditor shall be nominated and elected in the same manner, for the same term, and at the same election, as the Mayor.

To be eligible to the office a person must be a qualified elector of the State of California, and shall be a resident of the City at the time of filing nomination papers and for thirty (30) days immediately preceding the date of filing, and shall be certified by the California State Board of Accountancy as a Certified Public Accountant or by the Institute of Internal Auditors as a Certified Internal Auditor. The salary of the office shall be set by the Council, which shall be not less than 70% nor more than 90% of the average salaries of City Auditors of California cities within the three immediate higher and the three immediate lower cities in population to Oakland, and may not be reduced during the City Auditor’s term of office, except as a part of a general reduction of salaries for all officers and employees in the same amount or proportion.

The City Auditor shall have the power and it shall be his or her duty to audit the books, accounts, money and securities of all departments and agencies of the City and such other matters as the Council may request; to report to the Council periodically the results of such audits and to advise and make recommendations to the City Administrator regarding accounting forms design, fiscal and statistical reports and the methods or procedures for maintaining the accounts and accounting system throughout all departments, offices and agencies of the City.

The City Auditor shall report to the Council instances of noncompliance with accepted accounting principles where recommendations for compliance have not been implemented by the City Administrator after reasonable time and opportunity.

The City Auditor shall conduct surveys, reviews, and audits as the Auditor deems to be in the best public interest or as required by the Council or Mayor. For these purposes the public interest shall include, but not be limited to:

1. Reviewing and appraising the soundness, adequacy and application of accounting, functional, and operating controls and reliability and timeliness of accounting and other data generated within the organization.
2. Evaluating the city’s internal controls to ensure that the City’s assets and resources are reasonably safeguarded from fraud, waste, and mismanagement.
3. Ascertaining compliance with Council’s resolutions and policies and the Mayor’s Administrative Instructions and Directives, as well as applicable State and Federal laws and regulations.
4. Providing assistance to City Departments to enhance the effectiveness, efficiency and economy of their operations.
5. Preparing an impartial financial analysis of all ballot measures, pursuant to the provisions of the Municipal Code.
6. Preparing impartial financial analyses of proposed major expenditures prior to the approval of such expenditures. These analyses will be for informational purposes only and will include, but not be limited to, proposals, contracts, ventures, programs and construction projects. The proposed major expenditures selected for these financial analyses will be based on requests from Mayor/Council and/or deemed to be prudently advisable in the objective and professional judgment of the City Auditor.
7. Responding to requests for audit and reviews.
8. Submitting, at a public meeting of the full City Council, a quarterly report to the Council and public on the extent of implementation of recommendations for corrective actions made in the City Auditor’s report.
9. The City Auditor shall conduct performance audits of each department as specified in the City budget.

The City Auditor shall be represented in all legal matters by the City Attorney except as provided otherwise in Section 401.

(Amended by: Stats. November 1979, November 1996 and March 2004)