NYC Government Accountability

City & State Government Accountability

Mark Peters and Lesley Brovner have extensive experience working to ensure governmental accountability.  From 2014 through 2018 Peters and Brovner served as Commissioner and First Deputy Commissioner of the Department of Investigation, New York City’s Inspector General.  At DOI, they had jurisdiction to investigate any New York City agency, officer, elected official or employee of the City, as well as those who do business with or receive benefits from the City.   In their time at DOI, they investigated hundreds of matters, many of which resulted in prosecution.  They issued over 50 reports into city agencies and authorities, including the NYPD, Department of Buildings (DOB), and New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) and were responsible for creating compliance plans for city agencies that included preventive controls and operational reforms to improve the way the City runs.

In private practice, Peters and Brovner have represented multiple government contractors.  Additionally, they have brought lawsuits against the government to force it to comply with its obligations and have worked with companies to obtain pre-litigation governmental compliance.

New York State & The Audit Process

The Office of the New York State Comptroller has the constitutional authority to conduct financial, compliance and performance audits of all State and New York City agencies, including their associated facilities, institutions, board and program activities, as well as virtually all public benefit corporations. The Comptroller also has the authority to audit the records of private firms and nonprofit organizations which are awarded contracts by, or receive funding from, these government entities.

The NY State Comptroller conducts 3 types of audits: performance, financial/compliance and attestation.

• Performance Audits – assess the performance of a government organization, program, activity, or function.
• Financial/Compliance Audits – access whether an entity’s financial information is presented fairly, and/or on an entity’s internal controls and compliance with contracts, laws and regulations.
• Attestation Engagement – consists of a review of an agreed upon procedure and a report on the results. These can cover a broad range of financial or nonfinancial subjects and can be part of a financial or performance audit.

Relatedly, the New York City Comptroller conducts performance and financial audits of all City agencies and reviews City contracts for integrity, accountability and fiscal compliance.

Mismanagement of Government Contracts

City and State Governments are accountable to their citizens and business partners in a variety of ways.  We represent companies and individuals who do business with the government and are faced with the government’s failure to abide by their legal, statutory and contractual obligations.  We represent multiple companies who have done work for government entities and now have contractual disputes with those entities.

What is the Internal Control Act

The New York State Internal Control Act was first passed in 1987 and later amended in 1999.  It requires, among other things, that all state agencies have internal control procedures and appoint an internal control officer.  It further requires internal audits of select agencies and independent third-party audits of the Executive Chamber and the Division of the Budget.