The New Orleans Office of Inspector General (OIG) was established in 2006 by City Code Ordinance §2-1120 pursuant to section 9-401 of the Home Rule Charter. The OIG serves the citizens of New Orleans and provides independent and objective reporting to the Mayor, City Council, New Orleans residents, and other interested parties. Its mission is to prevent and detect fraud and abuse, and to promote efficiency and effectiveness in City operations and programs. The New Orleans OIG is functionally comprised of four units:

The Investigations Division (ID) prevents fraud and abuse through conducting fraud awareness seminars and other communications with City employees, vendors and citizens. Investigations are planned and conducted under the supervision of division leadership. The division also attempts to deter fraud by

• providing assurance that fraudulent activity will be detected and referred for prosecution;
• publicizing convictions and sentences to strengthen fraud deterrence;
• maintaining and analyzing data using advanced software in order to identify indicators of potential fraud; and
• conducting preliminary investigations into potential fraud and abuse when it receives credible allegations from various sources, documentary evidence, or indicators resulting from computer-aided analysis and other OIG work.

The Audit & Review (A&R) Division conducts, coordinates, and oversees all auditing activities relating to the City of New Orleans programs and operations. A&R may perform the following functions as well:

• conduct audits, attestations, special studies, and assessments of the City of New Orleans programs and operations;
• issue reports containing findings and recommendations for improvements, as necessary;
• develop audit techniques to promote efficiency and effectiveness in the administration of City of New Orleans programs and operations as well as to prevent and detect fraud, waste and abuse; and
• advise the City of New Orleans on developing sound management information and financial reporting systems as well as providing advice on ways to strengthen the operations of the City of New Orleans.

The Inspections & Evaluations (I&E) Division may initiate inspections, evaluations, and performance reviews of any matter falling within the jurisdiction of the OIG. I&E will provide City management with objective, thorough, and timely inspection and evaluation reports. The objectives of the reports include:

• providing a source of factual and analytical information;
• improving government accountability;
• promoting the interests of the citizens of New Orleans;

The inspections and evaluations will be conducted in accordance with the Principles and Standards for Offices of Inspector General (Green Book) and selected through the OIG strategic planning process with approval by the Inspector General.
 

Contract monitoring screens will be performed on new and existing contract proposals to assess the level of risk or exposure to fraud they present. City contracts posing a high risk of fraud and/or waste are those that:

• are awarded to firms involving felons convicted of contract-related corruption;
• have had numerous change orders or change beyond the original scope;
• have not been subject to competition for more than 5 years;
• drew a limited number of bids or that were sole-sourced; or,
• otherwise give the appearance of a conflict of interest

Contract monitoring will include monitoring high-risk contracts periodically, reviewing change orders and contract amendments, auditing some invoices, and inspecting some deliveries or the completed work for substitute or inferior materials. A formal review, resulting in a full report, will be conducted of a troubled contract unless the matters have been referred to a prosecutor.