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City of Santa Ana Page 5 Community Development Agency Financial Review We will work with the City's Finance & Management Services Agency Director for this organizational review to select the employees to be interviewed. Each interview will last between 30 and 45 minutes in length and we will prepare a report documenting the general themes we are able to derive from our conversations with the employees. Activity 3: Conduct Benchmarking During a financial review, we typically conduct benchmarking to compare procedures with similar sized and situated agencies. The purpose of benchmarking is to ascertain whether the City is within the typical range for fiscal management and other factors that are useful to compare. At the outset of a benchmarking activity, we work with management to identify appropriate procedures to be included, as well as the specific factors that are being compared. We then create tables with comparisons of the various factors being examined, analyze the data, and summarize the results. Activity 4: Conduct Analysis In this activity, we will review the data and documents that we obtain and identify those issues requiring further review and analysis. We will also examine key legislative and administrative policies and procedures in addition to reviewing any significant plans that have been used to guide programs and services. During our analysis, we will ascertain the following: • Whether the integration between the Finance and Management Services Agency and the Community Development Agency is operating at optimum efficiency • Financial and reporting efficiencies that could be achieved through technology improvements, change in procedures or policies, or technical adjustments • Whether the organizational structure provides for effective financial management and reporting, including areas of duplication that could be eliminated by making organizational changes At the conclusion of this activity we will prepare an outline of our preliminary observations and recommendations. We will then meet with City management to review these results and obtain feedback. Activity 5: Report Results Reports prepared by UFI are rich with detail and provide specific recommendations supported by quality analysis. We ensure that our observations and subsequent recommendations for the Community Development Agency are organized in an easy to understand format and presented in a practical and positive manner. Following our meeting with City management to review our preliminary recommendations, we will prepare a draft project memorandum. We will then meet with City management to review the draft report and obtain feedback. Following that meeting, we will make any necessary changes and submit a final report. Activity 6: Support Implementation Once the final memorandum has been approved, UFI will prepare a draft Implementation Action Plan. This document will provide a roadmap for the City to implement recommended changes. Key activities will be delineated and assigned to appropriate staff so accountability is built into the system from the UFI