Riverside County To Save Money With Fraud, Waste & Abuse Prevention Program
The Riverside County Board of Supervisors approved a fraud, waste and abuse prevention program on Tuesday, Sept. 1 that will save the county money. It was developed by Riverside County Auditor-Controller Robert Byrd.
(RIVERSIDE, Calif.) At the urging of Riverside County Auditor-Controller Robert E. Byrd, the Board of Supervisors today approved a money-saving policy that will make it easier to identify and eliminate fraud, waste and abuse and save valuable county funds.
“In addition to saving money that can then be directed to better serve the needs of our citizens, fraud, waste and abuse prevention programs are also a prerequisite for receiving the federal stimulus funds,” Byrd said.
“This policy updates existing standards of ethical conduct for all county employees to specifically address the issues of fraud, waste and abuse,” Byrd explained. “Ethical conduct of those in public service is of the utmost importance.”
“Fraud, waste and abuse is illegal, wasteful or improper activity involving county assets or resources,” Byrd explained. “It includes theft, deception, willful misrepresentation and extravagant, careless or needless spending or consumption of county resources, whether intentional or not.”
The program Byrd initiated aims to control instances of fraud, waste and abuse and other actions that detract from the efficiency and effectiveness of County operations by:
• Implementing ways to report anonymously and confidentially. At any time, including evenings, weekends and holidays, county employees, citizens and vendors can report known or suspected fraud, waste or abuse by calling a hotline at (800) 461-9330 or by going to www.CountyOfRiversideSpeakOut.com
• Creating a policy on ethical conduct to specifically address fraud, waste and abuse. County employees are now required to identify, report and work to eliminate fraud, waste and abuse.
• Educating county employees about this new program.
One of the most important functions of the Auditor-Controller’s office is to audit all of Riverside County’s expenses at the end of each fiscal year. This includes compiling an annual report, which is released about six months later.
The Auditor-Controller’s office also verifies, processes and creates more than 1,000 warrants to vendors each day and processes and drafts more than 40,000 paychecks for county employees each month. It oversees the disbursement of more than $3 billion in tax money each year.
In 2002, Robert Byrd became the county’s elected Auditor-Controller with more votes cast than in the entire history of the office. He was subsequently re-elected to a second four-year term in June of 2006.
Byrd has been chair of the Riverside County Employee Campaign and the Legislative Chair for the State Association of County Auditors. Additionally, Byrd is a commissioner on the California Uniform Construction Cost Accounting Commission, and a member of the California Society of Municipal Finance Officers, the Government Finance Officer’s Association and the State Association of County Auditors.
Committed to his community, he’s a member of Riverside Rotary, board member of the Next of Kin Registry, is on the International Relations Council for the City of Riverside, and is a member of La Sierra Academy’s Board of Trustees.
For details on the Riverside County Auditor-Controller’s office call (951) 955-3800.
Robert E. Byrd, CGFM, who is elected by the voters of Riverside County, heads the Office of the Auditor-Controller. The Auditor-Controller staff and management teams are dedicated to providing sound financial accounting, auditing and reporting in order to serve the citizens of Riverside County. More information is available on the Web at http://www.auditorcontroller.org.
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