.
.
.
The Santa Rosa Press-Democrat newspaper reported on Sunday, December 11 that the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors will be conducting interviews on Monday, December 12 for the vacant position of Auditor-Controller-Treasurer-Tax Collector and that one of the three candidates to be interviewed is Orange County’s current Auditor-Controller David Sundstrom.
Sundstrom was selected to fill the Orange County Auditor-Controller job over a decade ago after the incumbent retired under fire for not doing more to sound the alarm bells about the risky investments Tax Collector-Treasurer Bob Citron was making that resulted in the county filing bankruptcy in 1994. The position in Orange County is elected, and Sundstrom has been re-elected to the position several times following his initial appointment. He is generally credited with running a good operation and has occasionally butted heads with the County Supervisors; one of the most recent examples was after Supervisor John Moorlach wrote an op-ed piece that appeared in the Register that forecast that county government was headed for another bankruptcy. Sundstrom publicly disagreed with Moorlach’s alarming prediction and said in his view the county was nowhere near a need to pursue another bankruptcy.
Why Sundstrom would consider another job in a much smaller county like Sonoma County can only be speculated about. Could be a quality of life issue. Could be the attraction of combined Auditor and Tax Collector-Treasurer duties there compared to here where these duties are separated between two elected officials plus an appointed Auditor. Could be that the frustrations of trying to carry on in a county government that often seems dysfunctional under a Board of Supervisors that is not particularly visionary and often engaged in behind the scenes bickering and one-upmanship are the reasons.
Whether he is selected for the Sonoma job or not, the fact that Sundstrom is apparently looking for other opportunities is an indication that all is not well in Orange County Government.
Yeah, well he’s in charge of the new property tax system that keeps missing deadlines. Maybe he’s getting off his own sinking ship.
@ Tony B:
Please provide more info on the Tax System issue you referenced, and if possible a link to it . . . Much Appreciated!
A simple diagram of the Tax Roll System at link below.
http://www.ocsd.org/portal/site/ocgov/menuitem.02b739dec30413a69add603d100000f7/?vgnextoid=fdaf98d5046de110VgnVCM1000005b00610aRCRD&vgnextchannel=888c3b7059509110VgnVCM1000005b00610aRCRD&vgnextfmt=default
It is good Practice to have proper Segregation of Duties between Custody of Assets and the Recording of these assets, and independent review of these operations.
1) Treasurer: Custody of Assets (the Investments)
2) Controller: Recording (accounting) for these assets
3) Auditor: Appointed Auditor independently monitoring and reviewing these operations.
(P.S.: David Sundstrom has been a Past President of The IIA-OC; and Shari Freidenrich, Tax Collector/Treasurer has been a long-term member of The IIA-OC)
Francisco J. Barragan
Past President of the The Inst. of Internal Auditors-OC (TheIIA-OC: 2005-2006)
I actually audited the City of Rohnert Park twice early in my audit career with Deloitte, one of the top 4 Accounting and Auditing firms, and helped finalize the Year-end Audited Financial Statements and complete audit report.
Rohnert Park is a smaller sister city of Santa Rosa.
The area up there has a great quality of life!!!
Egads – a bean counter! Oh well, guess they are necessary but every time I hear the term “internal control” I equate it to adding clip-board carrying bureaucrats, clerks or admijnistrators to handle the seperation of duties, checks and balances, etc. This is one of the major sources of bureaucracy-like it or not.
@BAAW:
Sound internal controls are a very necessary evil!
Per a recurring study by the ACFE (Assoc of Certified Fraud Examiners), Fraud costs about $2.9 TRILLION of the annual global economy.
http://www.acfe.com/rttn-highlights.aspx
“The Impact of Occupational Fraud
Survey participants estimated that the typical organization loses 5% of its annual revenue to fraud. Applied to the estimated 2009 Gross World Product, this figure translates to a potential global fraud loss of more than $2.9 trillion.
The median loss caused by the occupational fraud cases in our study was $160,000. Nearly one-quarter of the frauds involved losses of at least $1 million.
Small organizations are disproportionately victimized by occupational fraud. These organizations are typically lacking in anti-fraud controls compared to their larger counterparts, which makes them particularly vulnerable to fraud”.
Maybe more “bean counters” are need in government then the current lawyer majority.
David Sundstrom appointed to CFO position in Sonoma County, per the Press Democrat.
http://totalbuzz.ocregister.com/2011/12/12/o-c-auditor-controller-appointed-to-sonoma-post/80654/
see OC Register story about this:
http://totalbuzz.ocregister.com/2011/12/12/o-c-auditor-controller-appointed-to-sonoma-post/80654/
Francisco – your comments about fraud in our society are most enlightening. Sure does warrant staffing up and spending to implement raesonable levels of internal control. I just wish more newspaper editorial writers who love to bash “bureaucrats” and “administrators” would read what you wrote and embrace it.
Of course, when a scandal hits, they are all too eager to then blame the “lack of oversight”.
Also appreciate the update on Sundstrom getting the job. As I read the qualifications for the OC job that are in the law (as contained in the Register total buzz story you linked to), I found myself wondering if term-limited John Moorlach might try to convince his colleagues that he is qualified and should be appointed. Perhaps this would be a good time for the Supervisors to take a hard look at the possibility of combining the Auditor-Controller job with the Tax Collector-Treasurer job, as has apparently been done in Sonoma County.
@OBNO:
Generally, Internal Controls should always be risk-based, and should consider the Cost vs Benefit outcome.
For Sonoma County because of its LOWER population (Population 483K) , it may make sense to combine the County’s Controller/CFO position with the Tax Collector/Treasurer.
http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/06/06097.html
However, for Orange County because of our HIGHER population (Population 3 million), and our approximate $6 billion in County Investments, it may not make sense to combine the roles given our greater risks, and especially also given our past issues here in OC.
But, I imagine that some sub-processes may be combined or be made more efficient by our superbly qualified Shari Freidenrich, Tax Collector/Treasurer, and for whom I had the honor and privilege of conducting her Invocation at her Swearing-in this past January 12 at Santa Ana’s Old Court House.
http://www.orangejuiceblog.com/2011/01/shari-freidenrichs-swearing-in-ceremony-for-oc-treasurer-invocation-by-ojs-francisco/
Francisco “Paco” Barragan
My opinions only and not those of any group