City Auditor tables City’s first Fraud and Waste Annual Report

HAMILTON, ON – Today, City Auditor Charles Brown tabled the City of Hamilton’s first Fraud and Waste Annual Report. A total of 99 reports were received and assessed by the Office of the City Auditor (OCA) between January 1, 2019 and June 30, 2020. 85 of these reports were received and assessed by the OCA in the first 12 months of the Fraud and Waste Hotline being launched from July 2019 to June 2020.

The Fraud and Waste Hotline provides City employees, contractors, vendors, and members of the public with a convenient, confidential and anonymous way to report suspicion or proof of wrongdoing. It also enables the City to operate with a high level of honesty and integrity.

Among the results from the investigations in this report there were:

• Five terminations
• Three disciplinary actions
• Two other (includes employee retirements)
• Two referrals to the Police

The Fraud and Waste Hotline was established to help protect City assets and reduce losses. As at September 22, 2020, the amount of confirmed loss or waste substantiated by the OCA was $202,000. Of this amount, $100,000 was fraud, $45,000 was waste, and there was $57,000 that the OCA was unable to determine which category would be most appropriate. Also, as of September 22, 2020, the City has recovered $21,000 of losses.

Additionally, the Fraud and Waste Hotline provides the following benefits that cannot be quantified:

• Deterring fraud, waste, and wrongdoing
• Strengthening internal controls and mitigation of risks
• Improving policies and standard operating procedures
• Better value in service delivery through increasing operational efficiencies
• Using hotline report data to identify trends, manage risks, make results-oriented recommendations to management, and inform future audits for the OCA work plan

Quick Facts

Since the Fraud and Waste Hotline launch there have been:

• 85 Reports received
• 20 Reports directly received by the OCA
• 8 Reports sent by management, finance, human resources, procurement
• 46 per cent of Reporters self-identified as an employee
• 31 investigations launched by OCA
  • 8 investigations related to Fraud
  • 15 investigations related to Waste/Management
  • 8 investigations combined Fraud and Waste/Management

Additional Resources

Fraud and Waste Hotline Report
Hamilton.ca/Fraud

“The Fraud and Waste Hotline demonstrates the City’s commitment to transparency and accountability. We will continue to use Report findings to assess and investigate any reports of wrongdoing as appropriate to protect City assets.”

- Charles Brown, City Auditor & Auditor General, Office of the City Auditor