Awards

To encourage increasing levels of excellence among local government auditors, the Association of Local Government Auditors created the Knighton Award in 1995 to recognize the best performance audit reports produced by local government audit shops in the previous year. Judges from peer organizations determine the best reports each year.

In 2026, OCA’s Performance Audit of the City’s Fleet Maintenance won the 2025 Distinguished Knighton Award in the Extra-large shop category. 

Overall, the judges found the report easy to read and well organized for the public and decision-makers, with effective highlights and concise finding summaries. The judges also praised OCA for a strong root cause analysis of fleet preventive maintenance delays that could help manage rising costs at a time when the City is facing a budget deficit, and found the recommendations to be practical, specific, and clearly prioritized. 

The judges’ comments can be found here.

This is the 11^th time OCA has won a Knighton Award and the 4^th Knighton Award in the last 5 years. 

Past Awards:

• 2025 Rising Star Award for Carissa Nash, Principal Performance Auditor, MPA, CIA
• 2024 Knighton Award for the Performance Audit of the City's Brush Management on City-Owned Land
  • The award letter can be found here.
  • A video describing the award-winning audit can be found here.
• 2022 Knighton Award for the Performance Audit of SDPD's Use and Management of Body Cameras
• 2021 Knighton Award for the Performance Audit of the City’s Major Building Acquisition Process
• 2016 Knighton Award for the Performance Audit of the City’s Programs Responsible for Pedestrian Safety
• 2015 Knighton Award for the Performance Audit of the Code Enforcement Division
• 2014 Knighton Award for the ESD Recycling Audit: Opportunities Exist to Improve Recycling Rates & Reduce Adverse Impacts Generated by Waste Hauling
• 2013 Knighton Award for the Performance Audit of the Streets Division’s Pothole Repair Operations
• 2012 Knighton Award for the Performance Audit of the Fire-Rescue Department’s Emergency Medical Dispatch Process
• 2011 Knighton Award for the Performance Audit of Fire-Rescue’s Emergency Medical Services
• 2010 Knighton Award for the Performance Audit of Street Maintenance: City Needs to Improve Planning Coordination, and Oversight to Effectively Manage Transportation Assets

The Office of the City Auditor has also received:

• Association of Local Government Auditors' 2009 Website Award