I. Introduction
This Audit Report summarizes the audit results of the committee, Hennessy for Sheriff 2015, FPPC Identification Number 1374817 (“the Committee”), for the period from January 1, 2015 through December 31, 2015. 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). The Committee was selected for random audit from the 2015 audit cycle.
II. Audit Authority
San Francisco Charter section C3.699-11 authorizes the Ethics Commission (“the 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
- Any unexpended public funds that must be returned to the City up to the amount of public funds received by the candidate.
The Commission posts audit reports to its website and, in cases of apparent violations of law, forwards them to the appropriate enforcement agency.
IV. Committee Information
The Committee qualified as a candidate-controlled committee on January 20, 2015 to elect Vicki Hennessy (“the Candidate”) as Sheriff of San Francisco. For the period covered by the audit, Stacy Owens of the Hank Levy Group served as the treasurer and Henry Levy served as assistant treasurer. The Committee terminated on March 25, 2016.
V. Audit Findings
For the period covered by the audit, the Committee received $319,881 in contributions (including non-monetary contributions of $400 and a loan of $35,000) and incurred $229,252 in campaign expenditures.
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 recordkeeping provisions of the Act and CFRO.