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Internal Auditor

The Internal Auditor's Office provides County Council with professional and independent evaluations of County activities. The Internal Auditor, who is appointed by and reports to County Council, assists all members of management by furnishing analyses, appraisals, recommendations and comments resulting from operational reviews of activities. The Internal Auditor provides County Council and the County Administrator with an oversight ability for financial and operational matters when an independent viewpoint is desired or required.

Responsibilities

Provide independent analyses of a wide variety of County financial and operational activities, including:
- Fuel accountability
- Elected officials' accountability
- Department funds handling
- County Detention Center inmate population
- Council oversight of management actions
- Accuracy of expenditures for General Obligation (GO) Bond and Certificate of Participation (COP) funds. GO bonds and COPs are debt instruments used to finance major expenditures and capital projects.
Perform unannounced audits throughout Charleston County Government

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: How are internal audits scheduled?

A: County Council's Audit Committee approves an Annual Audit Plan for the Internal Auditor's Office. The Annual Audit Plan may be amended during the year at the direction of the County Council's Audit Committee. The Director of Internal Audit schedules the audits. Departments may also request assistance by submitting requests to the County Administrator.

Q: Who gets the results of internal audits?

A: Normally, the audited management, a Deputy County Administrator (if applicable), the County Administrator, the Audit Committee and County Council receive the results. Copies of all audit reports are also provided to the County's Legal Department Attorney and the County's external auditors.

Q: What is the difference between the County Auditor , the Internal Auditor and the External Auditor?

A: The County Auditor is an elected official whose primary responsibility is to keep the County's tax records of real and personal property and to calculate individual property taxes to be paid each year. The Internal Auditor is an official appointed by County Council who is responsible for developing and executing a comprehensive audit program for the evaluation of management controls over County activities. The External Auditor is an independent audit firm contracted through the procurement process and selected by County Council to express an opinion on the annual financial statements prepared by County management. An annual external audit is required of counties by state law.