US Laws, Codes, Statutes & Cases

 
    §  93.  Powers and duties. a. The comptroller from time to time in his
  or her discretion may, and whenever required by law or requested by  the
  mayor  or  the  council,  shall  advise the mayor and the council on the
  financial condition of the city or  any  phase  thereof  and  make  such
  recommendations,  comments  and  criticisms in regard to the operations,
  fiscal policies and financial transactions of the city as he or she  may
  deem advisable in the public interest.
    b.  The  comptroller  shall  have  power  to audit and investigate all
  matters relating to or affecting the finances  of  the  city,  including
  without  limitation  the  performance  of  contracts and the receipt and
  expenditure of city funds, and for such  purpose  shall  have  power  to
  require  the attendance and examine and take the testimony under oath of
  such persons as the comptroller may deem  necessary.    The  comptroller
  shall  conduct  all  audits  of entities under contract with the city as
  expeditiously as possible and in no case shall initiate an  audit  later
  than  two  years  after  the  expiration  of  a contract term unless the
  comptroller determines in writing that: (1) such audit is  initiated  in
  connection  with  litigation  brought by or against the city, (2) it was
  not practicable to initiate an audit within such two year period, or (3)
  the initiation of the audit after the two year period is appropriate  in
  light  of  information discovered in an audit of another contract of the
  same contractor. Such written determination  shall  be  filed  with  the
  mayor, council and public advocate.
    c.  The comptroller shall have power to audit all agencies, as defined
  in subdivision two of section eleven hundred fifty,  and  all  agencies,
  the  majority  of  whose  members  are  appointed by city officials. The
  comptroller shall  be  entitled  to  obtain  access  to  agency  records
  required  by  law  to be kept confidential, other than records which are
  protected by the privileges for attorney-client communications, attorney
  work  products,  or   material   prepared   for   litigation,   upon   a
  representation  by  the comptroller that necessary and appropriate steps
  will be taken to  protect  the  confidentiality  of  such  records.  The
  comptroller  shall establish a regular auditing cycle to ensure that one
  or more of the programs or activities of each city  agency,  or  one  or
  more aspects of each agency's operations, is audited at least once every
  four  years.  The  audits conducted by the comptroller shall comply with
  generally accepted government auditing  standards.  In  accordance  with
  such  standards, and before any draft or final audit or audit report, or
  portion thereof, may be made public, the comptroller shall send  a  copy
  of the draft audit or audit report to the head of the audited agency and
  provide  the  agency,  in  writing,  with  a reasonable deadline for its
  review and response. The comptroller shall include copies  of  any  such
  agency  response in any draft or final audit or audit report, or portion
  thereof, which is made public. The comptroller shall send copies of  all
  final  audits and audit reports to the council, the mayor, and the audit
  committee.
    d. The comptroller shall (1) audit financial transactions of the city,
  including vouchers, warrants,  and  payrolls;  (2)  audit  all  official
  accounts  and  the  accrual  and collection annually of all revenues and
  receipts; and (3) audit the expenditure of city funds by any  public  or
  private agency that receives such funds from the city.
    e.  The  comptroller  shall  audit the operations and programs of city
  agencies to determine whether  funds  are  being  expended  or  utilized
  efficiently  and  economically and whether the desired goals, results or
  benefits of agency programs are being achieved.  The  comptroller  shall
  investigate  the processing of vouchers and the payment of bills by city
  agencies and shall audit agency compliance with applicable procedures in
  procuring goods, services and construction. The comptroller  shall  also

  undertake studies, including cost benefit analyses, of: (i) purchases of
  goods,  services,  and  construction  by agencies of government that use
  city funds for such purposes and  (ii)  the  adoption  and  use  of  new
  technology by city agencies to promote their economy and efficiency, and
  periodically  report the findings and recommendations of such studies to
  the mayor, the council and the public.
    f. Not later than the first day of March of each year, the comptroller
  shall deliver to the mayor and council a  report  describing  all  major
  audits of city agencies conducted by the comptroller during the previous
  fiscal  year;  the  corrective  actions  recommended in such audits; the
  corrective actions which  have  been  implemented  to  the  extent  such
  information  is known to the comptroller on the basis of agency reports,
  comptroller audits, or otherwise; and the comptroller's recommendations,
  if any, for additional corrective actions.
    g. The comptroller shall have power and it shall be his duty to  audit
  all  vouchers  before  payment  for  availability  of  funds and prepare
  warrants. No  warrant  shall  be  prepared  by  the  comptroller  unless
  sufficient  appropriations are available to cover the payments involved.
  No agency shall expend or  commit  any  funds  otherwise  than  for  the
  program  and purposes for which the funds have been appropriated and the
  comptroller shall conduct audits  and  take  such  other  action  as  is
  required to assure compliance with this provision.
    h. Except as provided in subdivision g, the agencies shall prepare and
  audit  vouchers  before payment, prepare and audit payrolls, receive and
  inspect goods and forward vouchers to the comptroller for  payment.  The
  comptroller  shall  prescribe  methods,  with  which  all agencies shall
  comply, for preparing and auditing vouchers  before  payment,  preparing
  payrolls,  and  recording,  reporting  and  accounting  in  the  several
  agencies  and  shall  conduct  reviews  to  assure  compliance.      The
  comptroller may suspend or withdraw the authority delegated to an agency
  pursuant  to  this  subdivision  (1)  upon  a  finding  of abuse of such
  authority or on a determination that the agency lacks adequate  internal
  controls  to  exercise such authority properly and (2) upon the approval
  of the audit committee after the agency has had  an  opportunity  to  be
  heard on this matter.
    i.  The  comptroller  shall  have  the  power to settle and adjust all
  claims in favor of or against the  city  in  such  manner  as  shall  be
  prescribed  by  law  and  for  that purpose may administer oaths, except
  that, with regard to excise and non-property taxes, such power shall  be
  vested in the commissioner of finance.  The comptroller shall not revise
  the  terms of a contract or agreement with the city after its execution.
  The city may include in construction contracts or agreements for capital
  projects provisions that authorize the comptroller  to  submit  disputes
  arising under any such contract or agreement to impartial arbitration.
    j.  The  comptroller  shall  administer and manage the several sinking
  funds of the city and all other  trust  funds  held  by  the  city,  and
  provide  for  the  receipt  and safekeeping of all moneys in such funds,
  except as provided in  paragraph  b  of  subdivision  three  of  section
  fifteen  hundred  four  of  this charter, and in such administration the
  comptroller shall be deemed to be acting in a fiduciary capacity.
    k. The comptroller shall keep the accounts of the city  and  shall  at
  least once in each month render to each agency a summary statement of so
  much thereof as relates to such agency.
    l.  Within  four  months  after  the  close  of  each fiscal year, the
  comptroller shall publish a statement for such year,  including  a  full
  and  detailed statement of the revenues and expenditures of the city and
  the surplus at the end of the fiscal year, including the  average  daily
  collected  deposits  in  bank  accounts  of  the  city,  the  investment

  performance of city pension and  other  investment  funds,  an  itemized
  statement  of  all  taxes due and uncollected at the close of the fiscal
  year, the reserve for estimated uncollectible taxes, and the uncollected
  parking  violation  fines  receivable,  an  itemized  statement  of  the
  condition of the sinking funds, and  any  other  assessable  improvement
  funds,  and  of  the  tax  appropriation  and general fund stabilization
  reserve fund as at the close of the fiscal year, the  different  sources
  of  city revenue, including itemization of receivables due from state or
  federal sources by program and fiscal year, and the amount received from
  each, the several appropriations made for the fiscal year,  the  objects
  for which they were made and the amount of expenditures made under each,
  the  money  borrowed on the credit of the city, the amount of each loan,
  the authority under which it was made and the  terms  on  which  it  was
  obtained,  and  such  other information in regard to such fiscal year as
  may be determined by the comptroller or by law.
    m. The comptroller shall establish for his or her office and  for  all
  city  agencies  a  uniform  system  of accounting and reporting based on
  generally accepted accounting principles.
    1. Such uniform system of accounts shall provide:
      (a) control accounts in the  office  of  the  comptroller  that  are
  consistent with budgeted units of appropriation and that are adequate to
  record and control spending by the agencies and to prevent agencies from
  exceeding appropriations;
    (b)  detailed  accounts  in  the  agencies  for  the  purposes of cost
  accounting,  rate  of  expenditure  information  and  other   management
  information data; and
    (c)  geographic  accounts  for the reporting of expenditures for local
  service districts of agencies within community districts and boroughs.
    2. The comptroller  shall  prescribe  procedures  for  accounting  and
  reporting  for  all  agencies, and review agency accounts and systems to
  assure compliance with this chapter and with the methods, standards  and
  procedures prescribed by the comptroller for the agencies.
    n.  The  comptroller  shall  prescribe  systems of accounting for city
  agencies whose revenues arising out of the use  of  the  facilities  and
  services  supplied  by such agencies constitute fifty per centum or more
  of the appropriations provided for the operation of such agencies, which
  systems of accounting shall conform so far as  practicable  to  standard
  public  utility  accounting  practices. The comptroller shall publish in
  the comptroller's annual report the financial statements for  such  city
  agencies.
    o. Notwithstanding the provisions of any general, special or local law
  or  this charter or any contract heretofore or hereafter made or awarded
  by the city of New York or by any agency, department or authority acting
  on its behalf, the comptroller may, at his or her discretion, turn  over
  the  physical  custody  and  safekeeping of bonds, notes, obligations or
  other evidences of indebtedness which have been  or  will  be  deposited
  with  the  comptroller  as  collateral  security  as  required by law or
  contract to a custodian who  may  be  (a)  any  bank  or  trust  company
  incorporated  in  the  state,  or  (b)  any national bank located in the
  state, or (c) any private banker duly authorized by  the  superintendent
  of  banks  of this state to engage in business here. The comptroller may
  enter into a contract with such custodian  under  terms  and  conditions
  which the comptroller may require. Each depositor of collateral security
  shall  bear  a  proportionate  share  of  the  cost  of  such  custodial
  safekeeping which shall be paid to the city of New York.
    p. No contract or agreement executed pursuant to this charter or other
  law shall be implemented until (1)  a  copy  has  been  filed  with  the
  comptroller  and  (2)  the  comptroller has registered it, in accordance

  with sections three hundred twenty-eight and three hundred  seventy-five
  of the charter.
    q. The council shall periodically review the requirements contained in
  the  charter for studies and reports by the comptroller and may by local
  law revise such requirements as it deems appropriate. At such  times  as
  the  mayor or the council shall request, the comptroller shall submit to
  them such  information  as  they  may  request.  The  comptroller,  upon
  request,  shall  assist  the  council  in  the  conduct  of  any  of its
  investigations or studies of the fiscal or economic affairs of the  city
  or  of  any agency. The comptroller shall provide reports to the council
  upon request and  shall  testify  before  the  council  or  a  committee
  thereof.
    r.  The  comptroller  shall  make a complete transcript of each public
  hearing conducted by the office available for public inspection free  of
  charge within sixty days after such hearing.  The comptroller shall also
  provide a copy of any requested pages of such transcript at a reasonable
  fee to cover copying and, if relevant, mailing costs.