Internal Audit Report 


Comprehensive Operational Audit 
Parking ParkingAviation Landside Operation 
Jan. 1, 2010 to Dec. 31, 2010 





Issue Date: June 7, 2011 
Report No. 2011-09

Internal Audit Report 
Public ParkingAviation Landside Operation 
January 1, 2010 to December 31, 2010 

Table of Contents 
Transmittal Letter .................................................................................................................................... 3 
Executive Summary ................................................................................................................................ 4 
Audit Objectives ...................................................................................................................................... 5 
Highlights and Accomplishments ......................................................................................................... 6 
Audit Scope and Methodology ............................................................................................................... 6 
Conclusion ............................................................................................................................................... 8 
Schedule of Findings and Recommendations ......................................................... 9 










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Internal Audit Report 
Public ParkingAviation Landside Operation 
January 1, 2010 to December 31, 2010 

Transmittal Letter 
We have completed a comprehensive operational audit of Public ParkingAviation Landside
Operation. The purpose of the audit was to determine if management has adequate controls to
ensure effective parking operations in compliance with applicable requirements. The audit
focused on a one-year period from January 1, 2010 to December 31, 2010. 
Management has the primary responsibility to establish and implement effective controlsover 
parking operations. Our audit objective was to examine and test those controls in order to
establish whether the controls were adequate and operating effectively. 
We conducted the audit using due professional care. We planned and performed the audit to
obtain reasonable assurance that the risk of ineffective parking operations was sufficiently
mitigated. 
Management controls over electronic transactions are adequate. However, we noted that
controls over exception parking transactions (e.g., lost and unreadable tickets) are not working
effectively as intended. 
We extend our appreciation to management and staff for their assistance and cooperation
during the audit. 


Joyce Kirangi, CPA 
Director, Internal Audit 







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Internal Audit Report 
Public ParkingAviation Landside Operation 
January 1, 2010 to December 31, 2010 

Executive Summary 

Audit Scope and Objective  The purpose of the audit was to determine if management has
adequate controls to ensure effective parking operations in compliance with applicable
requirements. Specifically, whether monitoring controls are working effectively as intended in
the following areas: 
Complete and proper processing of high-risk transactions 
Overtime compensation was proper and for actual time worked 
The scope of the audit included a one-year period from January 1, 2010 to December 31, 2010. 
Background The Port of Seattle owns and operates the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport 
(STIA) Public Parking Garage. Landside  Public Parking, an operating department of the
Aviation Division, oversees airport public parking. The mission of public parking systems is to
provide a quality parking system that is safe, self-sustained, and convenient access for the
residents, business owners, and visitors to Seattle-Tacoma Airport. 
Public parking fees at the airport are assessed based on the parking duration in accordance
with the Commission approved tariff. Public Parking generates approximately $50 million in
revenues annually, which is the single largest Port-operated revenue stream. Public Parking
revenue has been decreasing from $54 million in 2008 to $45 million in 2010. The decline is
contributable to competition around the airport. 
Public parking has staff of approximately thirteen non-representatives and eighteen
representative employees from Teamsters Local Union No. 117.  The department incurs
approximately $5.7 million annually in operating expense. P ayroll & benefits account for over
50% of the total operation expenses. 
Audit Result Summary Management has established adequate and effective controls 
related to overtime compensation. Moreover, management controls over electronic transactions
are adequate. We, however, noted that although management  has established and
implemented monitoring controls related to exception parking transactions (e.g., lost and
unreadable tickets), the controls were not operating effectively, as intended, to ensure complete
assessment or proper waiver of parking fees. 




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Internal Audit Report 
Public ParkingAviation Landside Operation 
January 1, 2010 to December 31, 2010 
Background 
The Port of Seattle owns and operates the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (STIA)public 
parking garage. Landside  Public Parking operates the airport public parking garage as well as
off-site parking lots for tenant employees. Parking fee at the public parking garage is assessed
based on the parking duration in accordance with the Commission approved tariff. The Public
parking garage offers 13,000 parking spaces and the off-site lot offers 3,320. Additionally, the 
department has a number of discount-based parking programs designed primarily to offer fast
and convenient way in and out of the airport for frequent travelers and airport tenant employees. 
Airport Public Parking has thirteen full time and eighteen Parking Service and Revenue Control
Representatives (PSRR). Full time staff includes: 
Nine supervisors who coordinate and oversee the PSRR. 
Two parking assistant auditors who monitor daily parking activities, especially exception
transactions such as lost and unreadable tickets. 
Public parking utilizes an automated parking revenue system, Scheidt Bachmann (S&B), to
process and report parking operations. Below are 2010 parking transaction counts by type. 
Count         % 
Pay parking                  1,859,040        97% 
Lost ticket              11,636         1% 
Unreadable           19,226        1% 
Cancellation            4,707        0% 
Validation              21,822         1% 
Other*                2,197        0% 
Total               1,918,628       100% 
Source: Scheidt Bachmann 
*includes ISF (insufficient funds) and money value 
Financial Highlights 
The department's revenues and expenses for the past three years are as follows. 
2008        2009       2010 
Parking Revenues                 $ 53,547,682   $ 44,797,161   $ 45,059,981 
Operating Expenses     $ 6,450,358    $ 5,628,084   $ 5,704,952 
Source: PeopleSoft 
The decline in revenues is contributable, among other things, to competition around the airport. 
Audit Objectives 
The purpose of the audit was to determine if management has adequate controls to ensure
effective parking operations in compliance with applicable requirements. Specifically, whether
monitoring controls are working effectively as intended in the following areas: 

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Internal Audit Report 
Public ParkingAviation Landside Operation 
January 1, 2010 to December 31, 2010 
Complete and proper processing of the following high-risk parking transactions: 
Lost ticket             Cash receipts 
Unreadable ticket        Petty cash and change fund 
Cancellation ticket       Money value 
Validation ticket 
Overtime compensation was proper and for actual time worked. 
The scope of the audit included a one-year period from January 1, 2010 to December 31, 2010. 
Highlights and Accomplishments 
During the audit, we observed the department's continuing efforts to enhance controls in the
following areas: 
City of SeaTac Parking Tax flowchart and narratives to promote and maintain accurate
tax calculations. 
S&B system training for 31 Electronic Technicians (ETs) for a minimum of three months 
to increase institutional knowledge and maintain consistent system support. 
Step-by-step instruction manual for parking revenue monitoring to promote consistent
and complete application. 
Random surprise cash counts to prevent potential misappropriation. 
Installation of an ID badge terminal with fingerprint analyzer to restrict physical access to 
Toll Plaza. 
Audit Scope and Methodology 
We conducted the audit to determine whether management controls surrounding high risk
parking transactions and overtime are adequate to provide reasonable assurance of effective
operations and compliance with Port policy/procedure. Our approach to the audit was riskbased
from planning to test sampling. We reviewed and assessed risks associated with 
processes, policies, and other procedures that have been established to effectively manage
parking operations. 
We applied additional detailed audit procedures to areas with the highest likelihood of significant
negative impact. We considered the nature of the activity and evaluated it within the context of
our audit objectives. Our consideration included control (both manual and system driven)
assessment and control testing, as necessary. 
Our additional detailed audit procedures can be grouped and summarized into exception
parking transactions and overtime compensation. We approached each audit area with the
following methodology: 
1.  Exception Parking Transactions 
In order to determine whether management controls over high risk transactions are working
effectively as intended, we applied the following procedures. 

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Internal Audit Report 
Public ParkingAviation Landside Operation 
January 1, 2010 to December 31, 2010 
a.  Lost Ticket 
We calculated a number of parking days for individual lost ticket transactions based on the
entrance and exit time. We applied average parking rates between general and hourly
parking to the number of days to compute an approximate parking charge. We compared
the resulting parking charge to parking fees actually collected. Our intent was to isolate a
population of transactions with higher likelihood of incorrect assessment. We reviewed the
list and selected seventeen lost ticket transactions for our testing. 
Our testing consisted of tracing transactions from Scheidt Bachmann to the following
systems reports and management forms to ensure proper assessment: 
Daily Shift Statement 
Lost Ticket Summary 
Daily overnight vehicle inventory 
b.  Unreadable Ticket 
We reviewed the overall distribution of unreadable tickets by month for unusual trends. We
noted a spike in September 2010, and randomly selected a block of transactions from
September 2, 2010 through September 9, 2010. 
c.  Cancellation Ticket 
There were approx. 4,700 cancellation transactions in 2010. We selected seventeen
transactions with highest cancellation amounts, ranging from $600 to $7,000. 
d.  Validation Ticket 
We reviewed all validation types and analyzed for increase/decreases in usage from prior
year. Based on the analysis, we selected the following validation types for our testing: 
Validation 33  Port Job             Validation 48  Towing 
Validation 45  AOB               Validation 49  US Air 
Validation 50  Lost and Found        Validation 71  USO 
e.  Money Value 
There were nineteen instances where public parking issued money value tickets to the
Airport Office Building (AOB) conference center. Each instance consisted of a number of 
tickets, ranging from two to one hundred. We reviewed all instances to ensure proper
accounting of all issued tickets. 
f.   Cash Receipts and Petty/Change Funds 
To ensure that management has adequate controls over cash handling and petty/change
funds, we randomly selected a date and performed a surprise cash count. 
2.  Overtime 
To determine whether overtime compensation was proper, we reviewed and analyzed 2010
overtime compensation for the following unusual trends: 
Above and below average overtime in 2010 
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Internal Audit Report 
Public ParkingAviation Landside Operation 
January 1, 2010 to December 31, 2010 
Increase/decreases from prior year 
We selected seven employees based on the initial analysis. We conducted further analysisof 
the selected employees'  monthly overtime earnings activities  and sampled  sixty-seven
individual overtime  hours  for testing. Our testing involved the examination of supporting
document and inquiries with management/staff to ensure: 
Compensation  was proper in accordance with applicable Port policies and labor
agreements. 
Management controls were working as intended. 
Conclusion 
Management has established adequate and effective controls  related to overtime
compensation. Moreover, management controls over electronic transactions are adequate. We,
however, noted that although management has established and implemented monitoring
controls related to exception parking transactions (e.g., lost and unreadable tickets), the controls
were not operating effectively, as intended, to ensure complete assessment or proper waiver of
parking fees. 











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Internal Audit Report 
Public ParkingAviation Landside Operation 
January 1, 2010 to December 31, 2010 
Schedule of Findings and Recommendations 
1.  Incomplete Management Monitoring of Exception Parking Transactions 
This is a repeat audit finding from two prior audits conducted in 2003 and 2007. 
Parking operations at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (STIA) utilize a parking revenue
control system called Scheidt Bachmann (S&B). The system  processes the majority of the
parking transactions automatically. However, some transactions such as lost tickets and
unreadable tickets require manual processing by Parking Service and Revenue Control
Representatives (PSRR). Such transactions are collectively referred to as exception
transactions. Because these exception transactions are processed manually, they are high
risk and subject to additional operating as well as management monitoring procedures. The
additional monitoring procedures are intended to ensure  that fees are charged and
accounted for accurately and properly. 
We noted that although management performed monitoring activities, the extent of the
monitoring was less than complete. Management monitoring consisted mainly of simple
counts of supporting documents against the number of transactions in the statement. There
was no review or follow-up of the supporting document for accuracy and reasonableness. 
The incomplete monitoring resulted in instances of noncompliance with the department
procedures as follows: 
a.  Lost Parking Ticket 
The Commission approved tariff requires customers be charged a daily rate minimum for
lost tickets. Additionally, department procedures require lost ticket transactions below
the daily minimum to be logged in the Lost Ticket Approval Form and approved by
supervisor. At exit, lost ticket transactions are required to be checked and verified
against the overnight vehicle inventory to establish a correct fee. 
Three (18% of the sample) transactions below the daily minimum were neither listed
in the Lost Ticket Approval Form nor approved by supervisor. 
We noted 14 transactions where management did not seek clarification or additional
information that was necessary to establish a correct fee. 
Management Response: 
Manager, Public Parking will meet with the supervisory group to ensure that all lost
tickets, below the daily minimum are approved and signed off by the supervisors. 
Manager, Public Parking will meet with the Assistant Auditor and the Temporary
Auditor to ensure they have a clear understanding of their role and looking for
clarification or additional information to ensure accuracy of the transaction 


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Internal Audit Report 
Public ParkingAviation Landside Operation 
January 1, 2010 to December 31, 2010 
b.  Unreadable Parking Ticket 
The system cannot read certain tickets for various reasons (e.g., demagnetization).
Department procedures require the PSRR to retain the ticket, exit time, and charge
information for verification purposes at a later time. 
We noted eight exceptions where the required document and/or supervisor approval
was not present. 
Management Response: 
Manager, Public Parking will work with Supervisors and PSRR's to ensure all
documentations are approved appropriately 
c.  Cancellation Parking Ticket 
Transactions often need to be cancelled for various legitimate reasons including human
errors. Department procedures require the S&B receipt, sufficient explanation, and
supervisor approval as adequate evidence of proper cancellations. 
We noted that 47% of the cancelled transactions tested did not have sufficient detail
to verify that they were proper. 
Management Response: 
In reviewing the documentations the majority of transactions had a supervisors
initials and some explanation, but additional detail is needed for management and
the auditors to clearly understand why the cancellation transpired. Manager, Public
Parking will work with the Supervisors to ensure sufficient detail is placed on each
cancellation 
d.  Validated Parking Tickets 
Validations are essentially free parking offered to those with legitimate Port related
business at the airport. US Air is an exception in that their validations are billable. 
Department procedures require the PSRR to retain the validation/receipt and to collect
for additional hours beyond the authorized duration. 
Public Parking has inadequate systems to ensure proper usage or track outstanding
validations. 
We noted that a management review missed US Air billings in November and
December 2010. 
Management Response: 
Manager, Public Parking will re-evaluate their auditing of validations and develop a
standard operating procedure. Landside is in the early stages of bringing on a new
revenue control system. The new system should improve the validation tracking 
process. 
Two US Air validations were missed for billing, one in November and one in
December due to having a temporary auditor that had not been trained to forward
these validations to the Billing Admin. We have revisited our training process to
prevent future issues.
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Internal Audit Report 
Public ParkingAviation Landside Operation 
January 1, 2010 to December 31, 2010 
e.  Money Value 
Money value tickets are issued to customers who attend an event at the Airport Office
Building (AOB) conference center. It is similar to validations in that customers receive
free parking for a specified duration. Money value differs from validation in that AOB
Management bills the event sponsor. 
Management currently has no policies and procedures to address Money Value. 
Management Response: 
Since the audit, Management has corrected the process of verifying the amount of
used and returned tickets and comparing them to the amount the customer was
charged. A Standard Operating Procedure is in the process of being developed. 
In all aforementioned instances under various transaction types, a management review was
performed; however, the monitoring procedures failed to detect these exceptions. The
observed deficiencies are the results of inadequate monitoring practices.  Effective
monitoring should not only recount transactions to ensure completeness but should also
include reviewing the supporting documentation to ensure the complete assessment of
parking fees and/or proper waiver. 
Recommendation 
We recommend management strengthen controls to ensure that monitoring activities over
exception transactions are complete and effective as intended. 
Management Response: 
Management is in the process of picking a vendor to replace the revenue control
system. With this replacement some of the exception transactions will be much
easier to audit and track, thus some of these issues will be eliminated. 
Manager, Public Parking is currently working with the Landside Auditing Team and
the Landside Supervisors to ensure that we continue to strengthen the existing
monitoring controls. We have scheduled supervisor and landside auditor meetings,
to go over these findings and continue to improve the exception process.
Management would like to note that in early 2010 the landside operations Senior
Auditing Specialist went out on medical leave and has not returned as of yet. Due to
her absence the Assistant Auditor was tasked with the role of handling all the public
parking auditing. Late in November of 2010, Landside Management brought on a
temporary employee to assist the Assistant Auditing Specialist with auditing
requirements that were difficult to complete. 
Management would also like to suggest a return of the Internal Audit team within the
next 6-9 months to review the additional auditing processes that have been put in
place since the 2010 review period. 


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