I. Introduction
This Audit Report summarizes the audit results of the committee, Committee to Elect Lynn Jefferson, Identification Number 1303409 (“the Committee”), for the period from January 1, 2008 through December 31, 2008. The audit was conducted to determine whether the Committee materially complied with the requirements of the Political Reform Act (“the Act”) (California Government Code section 81000, et seq.) and San Francisco’s Campaign Finance Reform Ordinance (“CFRO”) (San Francisco Campaign and Governmental Conduct Code section 1.100, et seq).
II. Audit Authority
San Francisco Charter section C3.699-11 authorizes the Ethics Commission to audit campaign statements that are filed with the Commission along with other relevant documents to determine whether a committee complied with applicable requirements of State and local laws. Section 1.150(a) of the CFRO requires the Commission to audit all candidates who receive public financing.
III. Audit Scope and Procedures
This audit was performed in accordance with generally accepted auditing standards. The audit involved a review of the Committee’s records for the period covered by the audit. This review was conducted to determine:
- Compliance with all disclosure requirements pertaining to contributions, expenditures, accrued expenditures, and loans, including itemization when required;
- Compliance with applicable filing deadlines;
- Compliance with restrictions on contributions, loans, and expenditures;
- Accuracy of total reported receipts, disbursements, and cash balances as compared to bank records;
- Compliance with all record-keeping requirements;
- Compliance with all provisions related to the Commission’s public financing program; and
- Determination of any unexpended public funds that must be returned to the Election Campaign Fund up to the amount of public funds received by the candidate.
The Commission posts audit reports to its web site and, in cases of apparent violations of law, forwards them to the appropriate enforcement agency.
IV. Committee Information
The Committee was formed in January 2008 to support the election of Lynn Jefferson to the office of Board of Supervisors (District 3) in the November 4, 2008 election. The candidate served as the treasurer. The Committee was active as of 12/31/08.
V. Audit Findings
For the period covered by the audit, the Committee received $46,038 in contributions, $61,309 in public funds, and incurred $101,721 in qualified campaign expenditures. CFRO provides that any candidate who receives public funds must return unexpended campaign funds to the Election Campaign Fund. The Committee did not have any unexpended funds. [1]
The Commission determined that there were no material findings with respect to the audit of the Committee. The Committee substantially complied with the disclosure and record keeping provisions of the Act and CFRO.
[1] Unexpended funds are calculated by subtracting any unpaid bills, on-going qualified campaign expenditures, and forfeitures from the amount of cash that the Committee had on hand on the 30th day following the election in which the candidate was elected or defeated.