A city gains insight into minority, women, and disadvantaged business program improvement opportunities

Challenge 

A large city needed a performance audit of their Minority/Women and/or Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (M/WBE/DBE) program to assess the effectiveness of policies, procedures, practices, and systems. The program also requires the participation of M/WBE/DBEs on certain government contracts. 

Solution 

BerryDunn’s government assurance team:

• Reviewed practices for certifying businesses, renewing certifications, and tracking their certification status. 
• Compared written policies to current practices to evaluate performance, including the creation, monitoring, and achievement of M/WBE/DBE business goals. 
• Analyzed program policies and procedures, annual reports, guides, manuals, and other relevant forms to assess the program’s governance. 
• Performed testing procedures to assess the contracts’ administration.
• Conducted interviews with government employees, officials, and M/WBE/DBE business owners to gain an understanding of program participants’ experience. 
• Engaged similar cities across the country to compare practices and outcomes for benchmarking. 

Outcome 

BerryDunn’s government assurance team identified areas of improvement for the M/WBE/DBE program. The city will use the final report recommendations to advance planning efforts, improve compliance, and increase efficiencies.