Employee Separation Process Follow-Up

The Department of Finance fully implemented seven recommendations made in the original audit report. However, the department only partially implemented five others, and it has not taken steps to address the risks five other recommendations had sought to resolve.

By fully implementing recommendations to document a continuity-of-operations plan, the Payroll Division is in a better position to respond should the city’s payroll and leave balance system of record fail in the future. Also, implementing timelines for employee separation tasks ensures former employees are paid out on their remaining leave balances in a timely manner, and developing a policy to recoup the cost of unreturned city computers ensures the city does not lose the value of computers that can be reused for other employees.

Remaining Risks

The recommendations the department did not fully implement present several lingering risks. Among them:

• The Payroll Division did not completely document how leave balances for uniformed employees align between Telestaff and Workday. Without sufficiently detailed policies and procedures on how to align leave balances, the division cannot be certain uniformed employees’ leave balances are accurate.
• The Department of Finance did not update its “Fiscal Accountability Rule Overview” policy to ensure Fiscal Accountability Rules are updated promptly after a change in the city’s systems or processes. This can lead to the city’s rules, meant to ensure financial accountability and establish internal controls, being outdated for extended periods of time.
• The department did not update Fiscal Accountability Rule 4.2 to reflect the city’s Technology Services agency’s updated computer tracking and management policy — creating possible roles and responsibilities confusion for city agencies tracking and managing computers.

Auditor's Letter

July 2, 2026

In keeping with generally accepted government auditing standards and Auditor’s Office policy, as authorized by city ordinance, we have a responsibility to monitor and follow-up on audit recommendations to ensure city agencies address audit findings through appropriate corrective action and to aid us in planning future audits.

In September 2024, we audited the Employee Separation Process and found risks involving former employees not being paid out in a timely manner, employee leave balances potentially being inaccurate, outdated Fiscal Accountability Rules, and not recovering the costs of unreturned city computers. The Department of Finance agreed to implement all 17 recommendations.

We recently followed up and found the department fully or partially implemented most recommendations.

Although the Department of Finance has made significant progress, it did not fully address all the risks associated with our original findings. Consequently, we may revisit these risk areas in future audits to ensure the city takes appropriate corrective action.

We appreciate the leaders and team members in the Department of Finance who shared their time and knowledge with us throughout the audit and the follow-up process. Please contact me at 720-913-5000 with any questions.

Denver Auditor's Office


Timothy O'Brien, CPA

AUDITOR TIMOTHY O'BRIEN, CPA
Denver Auditor

Denver Auditor's Office

201 W. Colfax Ave. #705 Denver, CO 80202
Email: auditor@denvergov.org
Call: 720-913-5000
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