Capital Metro Vice President of Internal Audit Caroline Beyer has been named Internal Auditor of the Year by the Austin Chapter of the Institute of Internal Auditors.
The group’s membership of approximately 900 voted to honor Beyer with the distinction for 2013 and announced the award at its membership luncheon on May 14. Gov. Rick Perry has proclaimed this week, May 12-18, as Internal Audit Week, recognizing the increased accountability, transparency and operational efficiency that internal audit programs bring to their organizations.
“One of the greatest successes Capital Metro can claim over the past few years is its overhaul of its finances and the level of financial transparency the agency has achieved,” says Capital Metro Board Member and Finance/Audit Committee Chairman Frank Fernandez. “We are in a position now to lead the region’s mobility efforts, and Caroline’s work as internal auditor has been critical to that progress.”
For example, under Beyer’s leadership, in 2008 the internal audit department recommended that Capital Metro develop and implement contract management plans for monitoring service provider contracts. The authority did so and set the foundation for successfully transitioning to an outsourced business model in which all of its transit service is provided by private contractors.
More recently, an internal review of the MetroAccess program brought attention to longer-than-desired customer wait times for eligibility assessment appointments. As a result of the audit and the hard work by MetroAccess staff, wait times have decreased by almost 60 percent.
Notes Beyer, “It’s a partnership. We as auditors make recommendations and hand off a baton, but it’s up to management to run with it and win the race for the team. It’s been great to work for an organization that actively seeks ways to improve.”
Beyer has 20 years of experience within the internal audit profession, including work for IBM, Seton Healthcare, and state government. She joined Capital Metro in 2002. Beyer has served on the Board of Governors for the Austin Chapter of the Institute of Internal Auditors, and is also a member of the Peer Review Committee of the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) Committee of Transit Audit Professionals. In 2010, Capital Metro’s Internal Audit Department won a Silver Knighton Award, a national achievement awarded by the Association of Local Government Auditors.
As part of Capital Metro’s commitment to transparency, all of Capital Metro’s internal audits over the past five fiscal years are posted online.
