Reports

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) is facing the greatest challenge in its history. On March 1, 2020, New York City reported its first confirmed case of COVID-19, a highly contagious respiratory disease. In the weeks that followed, the caseload grew rapidly in New York City and the downstate region, and the novel coronavirus then spread across the nation. The MTA forecasts budget deficits of $3.4 billion in 2020, $6.3 billion in 2021, $3.8 billion in 2022, $2.8 billion in 2023 and $3.1 billion in 2024. The July Plan’s projected budget gaps are historic in nature. The gap in 2021...

The objective of the evaluation is to determine whether the IRS effectively used its telework program to reduce the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on IRS operations.

This review was completed as a non-audit service and does not constitute an audit conducted in accordance with Generally Accepted Government Auditing Standards. In agreement with management, we performed the following tasks: Reviewed practices for tracking COVID-19 related payroll and non-payroll expenditures; Reviewed the adequacy of tracking and systems/software for emergency management events; and Researched cost recovery funding sources for local government.

The Department of Administrative Services (DAS) made progress on 11 of the 16 recommendations from the original audit, fully implementing six. COVID-19 response and preparation for the 2021-23 budget made it difficult for DAS to implement some recommendations, specifically those pertaining to end of biennium spending. Additionally, the agency’s choice to deviate from standard response options in four recommendations made our follow-up work more difficult and limited accountability and transparency.

This special report provides information to assist Berkeley’s leaders in navigating the financial challenges ahead. We conducted interviews and reviewed data from government finance and budget officials to compile information on estimates of how the COVID-19 pandemic will affect the local economy and Berkeley’s revenues and expenditures; and considerations from government finance and budget officials for the City Manager and Council to inform decisions about how to manage resources as revenues decline and expenditures increase.

The audit examined Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination's (MCAD) case management system to determine whether a backlog was present. The audit also reviewed whether MCAD had created a process for ensuring that CARES Act funds received complied with the policies issued by the Office of the Comptroller of the Commonwealth and whether the employees processing these funds were trained in risk management and information security as required by the Executive Office of Technology Services and Security.

This report is a review of risks and possible mitigation strategies related to remote work decisions. The office has not yet completed its assessment of the County’s transitions to remote work and are not yet making recommendations because of the evolving nature of these decisions. However, when the office’s assessment is complete, it will use the information in this document as a starting point for making recommendations in the future.