Report 2011-504 Recommendation 16 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 #16 To: High-Speed Rail Authority, California

To ensure that the Program Manager's monthly progress reports are accurate, consistent, and useful, the Authority should conduct monthly comparisons of the Program Manager's and the regional contractors' progress reports to verify that they are consistent with one another and to ensure that the reports include an accurate status of promised deliverables.

6-Month Agency Response

The Authority stated that the oversight consultant, acting as an extension of the Authority, reviews the Program Manager's monthly progress reports and makes observations and recommendations. Those observations and recommendations are reviewed by the program director and are discussed, reviewed, and incorporated into a written response to the Authority. In addition, the Authority indicated that its audit office's work plan includes scheduled audits of the regional contractors' progress reports and invoices, as well as comparisons on a sample of the Program Manager's and the regional contractors' progress reports. It also stated that the audit office will review the Program Manager's and oversight consultant's activities. (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.