Concurrence FAQ

There are two documents: 1) a form (provided to you with the draft) indicating concurrence and implementation timelines, and 2) a letter of response from the County Executive or appropriate elected official. Reviewing sample letters and concurrence forms in our published reports may be helpful.

Concur — you agree that the recommended action would be a way to achieve a desirable outcome (even if you do not have the resources or are already taking action in this area). If you have resource concerns, please note that in the narrative part of the form.

Partially Concur — you agree with at least part of the recommendation or its intended outcome.

Nonconcur — you do not agree with either the recommendation or its intended outcome (i.e., you believe that following the recommendation would worsen the county’s efficiency, effectiveness, or equity).

It varies. Typically, whoever has been serving as the audit liaison within your agency will develop a draft response, working with the division director (if applicable) and department director or elected official. In executive branch agencies, the Executive’s Office will have processes for review and approval. If there is any confusion about a recommendation, we are happy to meet with the liaison, the department director, and/or the elected official to clarify and make sure everybody has a shared understanding of what each recommendation means.

You should evaluate when your agency can reasonably implement the recommendation. In many cases, the timing of our follow up work is an outgrowth of your identified implementation date. If it appears that implementation will take an unreasonably long or unreasonably short amount of time, we may call you to discuss further.

Yes, the auditor follows up on every recommendation until it is:

• fully implemented,
• resolved using an alternate approach, or
• overtaken by events.

Please contact the audit team as soon as possible so the team can consider changes to the final report. We want to direct our recommendations to the appropriate parties.

You should indicate that you concur if you agree with the recommendation itself. Concurrence is primarily based on agreement with the intended outcome of the recommendation. There have been times that our recommendations have resulted in increased or reallocated resources to solve the problem identified, although this is not guaranteed. If you have comments that you would like to share about the resources needed for implementation, the letter that goes with the concurrence form is an excellent place to discuss those issues. The auditor will publish both the form and the letter in their entirety in the audit report.

You should indicate that you concur if you agree with the recommendation itself. Concurrence is primarily based on agreement with the intended outcome of the recommendation. If you have comments that you would like to share about the regulatory or labor environment, the letter that goes with the concurrence form is an excellent place to discuss those issues. The auditor will publish both the form and the letter in their entirety in the audit report.

You should indicate that you concur if you agree with the recommendation. Concurrence is primarily based on agreement with the intended outcome of the recommendation. We understand that implementing the recommendations that involve bargaining can take time and need to be considered in the context of priorities within bargaining as a whole. If you have comments that you would like to share about the specifics of your labor environment, the letter that accompanies the concurrence form is an excellent place to discuss those issues. It will be published in its entirety in the audit report.

Please contact the audit team as soon as possible so the team can consider updates to the report. We want to understand the status of your implementation. It is possible that even if you have begun planning or have initiated implementation of a recommendation that it will remain in the report. For audit purposes and depending on the recommended actions, for a recommendation to be closed we may need to see the results of implementation. If you have comments that you would like to share about the work you have initiated, the letter that accompanies the concurrence form is an excellent place to discuss those issues. It will be published in its entirety in the audit report.

You should indicate that you concur if you agree with the recommendation. Concurrence is primarily based on agreement with the intended outcome of the recommendation. During the follow up process, the auditor can call a recommendation done if it has been resolved using an alternate approach. There are times that you may feel that recommendations are not as specific as you might like. Audit recommendations typically focus on what to achieve, or the intended outcome. It is our goal to leave agencies an appropriate amount of flexibility to determine how to implement the recommendation.

You should indicate that you concur if you agree with the recommendation. Concurrence is primarily based on agreement with the intended outcome of the recommendation. If you have comments that you would like to share about the narrative of the report, the letter that accompanies the concurrence form is an excellent place to discuss those issues. It will be published in its entirety in the audit report.

Ideally, you have communicated concerns to the audit team before the executive review period, but if this has not occurred, please contact the audit team as soon as possible so the team can consider changes. We want to understand your perspectives and support you in any appropriate way to achieve performance excellence related to efficiency, effectiveness, and equity. Although at times we may need to agree to disagree, we fully support partnering with you to identify ways to achieve county goals.

The Executive Leadership Team may be able to answer questions you have. The audit team and audit supervisor may be able to assist. Please also feel free to contact the County Auditor with questions or concerns.