CITY AUDITOR TO REVEAL PERFORMANCE AUDIT "BEST PRACTICES" AT WASHINGTON, D.C. MAYOR'S CONFERENCE

City Auditor Steve Schoonover travels to Washington, D.C. today at the invitation of that city's mayor to serve as a presenter on performance audits and other internal audits at the Metropolitan Washington Council of Govenment (COG) conference, "Competitive Government: Stategies for Enhancing Government Service Delivery for the 21st Century." Schoonover will appear on a panel accompanied by Lisa Anderson, partner with KPMG Peat Marwick's National Public Services for Management Assurance Service Practice.

Controller Sylvia R. Garcia will accompany Schoonover, whom she called "one of the best in the public accounting business.

I think it is a tremendous compliment to Steve for the Office of the Controller's performance auditing processes to be nationally recognized as the standard for regional governments. I know the taxpayers of Houston will see this as confirmation that the City Controller does a great job of protecting their hard-earned money."

Schoonover, a CPA with more than 20 years of audit experience, is a recognized authority in government accounting and an experienced manager of performance, financial and compliance audits. Working within the Office of the Controller, he is acknowledged for striking a balance between in-house staff, but we use outside auditors as necessary. We're the project managers for the audit team."

Approximately 400 senior managers and elected officials from governments in the District of Colombia, Maryland and Virginia region are expected to attend the day-long "best practices" conference. Mayor Anthony Williams of Washington, D.C. called the conference in order of regional officials to learn the most cost-effective and efficient management from leading government managers nationwide. Other presenters at the conference include top executives from corporations such as Lockheed Martin and Wackenhut Corporation, and public sector leaders, including Mayor Williams and Mayor Stephen Goldsmith of Indianapolis.

Schoonover and Controller Garcia are the only Houston officials invited to participate.