Mayor’s Office of the National Wester Center improvements are minimum

Mayor's Office of the National Wester Center improvements are minimum

Published on September 17, 2026

En español(PDF, 137KB)

DENVER - The Mayor's Office of the National Western Center made little progress addressing risks involving the National Western Center, according to a new follow-up report from Denver Auditor Timothy M. O'Brien, CPA.

Our original audit found issues with the office's inadequate governance of design activity at the National Western Center and its lax oversight over consultants. There were untimely invoice submissions and processing, which reduced project transparency and heightened risks of overpayment.

The Mayor's Office of the National Western Center only partially implemented the two recommendations it agreed to from the original audit. While the office is following the city's required practices for uploading project invoices to Workday, the city's system of record, we found the level of detail is inconsistent, which can impact the transparency of financial records. The office also developed policies and procedures involving Procore, the system the office uses to store design documents, but procedures are informal and the same gaps that prompted the original recommendation remain.

Because we do not follow up on disagreed recommendations, other risks found in our original audit may still exist. These risks include:

• Inadequate project management on any future capital projects the office completes.
• Overpaying for work, receiving substandard work, or experiencing payment delays and disputes with contractors.
• Delays to subconsultant future payments.

"The Mayor's Office of the National Western Center agreed to follow city fiscal rules for documentation and developed guidance for managing software, which is the very least to expect from contract oversight," Auditor O'Brien said. "Given the number of outstanding risks for this important project, I anticipate future audits."

AUDITOR TIMOTHY O'BRIEN, CPA
Denver Auditor

Denver Auditor's Office

201 W. Colfax Ave. #705 Denver, CO 80202
Email: [email protected]
Call: 720-913-5000
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