Appendix
Scope and Methodology
The Audit Committee directed the California State Auditor to perform an audit related to the bureau's and commission's policies and procedures, the Gambling Fund balance, and several other audit objectives. The table below outlines the Audit Committee's objectives and our methods for addressing them.
AUDIT OBJECTIVE | METHOD | |
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1 | Review and evaluate the laws, rules, and regulations significant to the audit objectives. | Reviewed relevant laws, policies and procedures, industry standards, and best practices. |
2 | Review the bureau's process for reviewing the backgrounds of gaming establishments and other licensees and determine whether it is performing these reviews in an efficient and effective manner and in accordance with the APA. |
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3 | Determine whether the commission and the bureau are complying with statutory time frames and internal goals for processing applications for licensing at gaming establishments and whether a backlog of applications exists. Determine the extent and cause of any backlog. |
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4 | Determine whether the commission and the bureau have and adhere to policies and procedures to ensure all applicants and licensees are treated fairly and consistently by providing timely hearings, due process, and equal protection regardless of race, national origin, or gender. |
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5 | Determine whether the commission or the bureau use gambling funds for any improper purposes. Determine how much time their employees spend in each card room and casino and review expenses incurred by these employees while performing their compliance testing. |
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6 | Review and evaluate relevant policies and procedures of IGLS and evaluate its efficiency and consistency in reviewing contracts and documents. Determine whether IGLS has and follows policies and procedures to provide all applicants with timely reviews, basic due process, and equal protection requirements regardless of their race or national origin. |
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7 | For a selection of meetings, determine whether the commission complies with the Bagley‑Keene Open Meeting Act. Further, for a selection of matters, identify the extent to which the same attorneys are representing both the bureau and the commission and assess whether this arrangement is a conflict of interest or constitutes a violation of the Judicial Code of Ethics or the APA. |
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8 | Identify any surplus balance in the Gambling Fund and determine whether fees paid by applicants and licensees are appropriate. |
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9 | Review and assess any other issues that are significant to the audit. |
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Sources: Analysis of the Audit Committee's audit request number 2018‑132, as well as information and documentation identified in the column titled Method.
Assessment of Data Reliability
In performing this audit, we relied on electronic data files we obtained from the database the bureau uses to track the status of license applications. The GAO, whose standards we are statutorily required to follow, requires us to assess the sufficiency and appropriateness of any computer-processed information we use to support our findings, conclusions, or recommendations. To perform this assessment, we evaluated the bureau's data against sources of corroborating documentation from its actual application files. We determined that the data were sufficiently reliable for the purposes of summarizing the number and age of pending applications at the bureau, as well as for determining how long the bureau takes to review license applications.