Section 13401 Of Chapter 5. The State Leadership Accountability Act From California Government Code >> Division 3. >> Title 2. >> Part 3. >> Chapter 5.
13401
. (a) The Legislature finds all of the following:
(1) Active oversight processes, including regular and ongoing
monitoring processes, for the prevention and early detection of fraud
and errors in program administration are vital to public confidence
and the appropriate and efficient use of public resources.
(2) Fraud and errors in state programs are more likely to occur
from a lack of effective systems of internal control in state
agencies when active monitoring measures are not maintained to ensure
that controls are functioning properly.
(3) Effective systems of internal control provide the basic
foundation upon which a structure of public accountability must be
built.
(4) Effective systems of internal control are necessary to ensure
that state resources are adequately safeguarded, monitored, and
administered.
(5) Systems of internal control are necessarily dynamic and must
be routinely monitored, continuously evaluated, and, where necessary,
improved.
(6) Reports regarding the continuing adequacy of the systems of
internal control of each state agency are necessary to enable the
executive branch, the Legislature, and the public to evaluate each
state agency's performance of its public responsibilities and
accountability.
(b) The Legislature declares all of the following to be the
policies of the state:
(1) Each state agency must maintain effective systems of internal
control as an integral part of its management practices.
(2) The systems of internal control of each state agency shall be
evaluated on an ongoing basis through regular and ongoing monitoring
processes and, when detected, weaknesses must be promptly corrected.
(3) All levels of management of state agencies must be involved in
assessing and strengthening the systems of internal control to
minimize fraud, errors, abuse, and waste of government funds.
Monitoring processes should be designed to ensure objectivity of
persons tasked with monitoring. Objectivity means allowing those
tasked with monitoring to maintain integrity, impartiality, a
questioning state of mind, and the ability to accurately and fairly
assess circumstances and draw sound conclusions.
(4) It shall be the responsibility of the Department of Finance,
in consultation with the Controller and the California State Auditor,
to establish guidelines for how the objectivity of the persons
tasked with monitoring processes are to be maintained. Those
guidelines should include establishing monitor training programs,
identification of appropriate chain-of-command reporting
relationships, and recommended best practices for professional
development and the conduct of objective monitoring, including, but
not limited to, practices for the regular dissemination of strategies
and lessons learned from successful efforts to strengthen state
administration via interagency cooperation.