The California Public Utilities Commission’s new internal audit unit is delving into workforce planning and emergency preparedness, plus commission document management and retention practices, which have been criticized. The audits will follow the unit’s first investigation, Carl Danner, chief internal auditor, told the commission Jan. 15. It found the agency did a poor job of maintaining fleet vehicles used by inspectors and other commission employees.<!--more--> The string of full-fledged audits, according to Danner, follows unit work on an initial organizational risk assessment and suggestions for how the commission can better manage its intervenor compensation process. The internal audit unit—formed in 2013—aims “to help the CPUC modernize and improve its management processes and strategic performance,” he noted. The unit, said Danner, is strongly positioned to do that because it reports to all of the commissioners—not just the president—and acts independently of the staff director. Its first audit of the commission’s automotive fleet raised commissioners’ eyebrows. It pointed out that while the agency emphasizes safety at utilities, its own staff members have been driving around in poorly maintained cars, some with bald tires and worn out brakes (Current, Jan. 15, 2015). <a href="mailto:wjkelly7@gmail.com"><i>William J. Kelly</i></a>
