Authority
In the November 2002 General Election, the voters demanded accountability in city government when it overwhelmingly approved an amendment to the city charter creating an independent City Auditor. This was precipitated by the council’s desire to strengthen the auditing function in city government and ensure that the agencies and programs of the city are held to the highest standard of accountability to the public. The charter affords the auditor the independence to initiate work under the auditor’s authority and to consider requests for work from the council. Chapter 5 Revised Charter of Honolulu (RCH) establishes the powers of the City Auditor.
Section 3-502, RCH, permits the auditor to have full, free, and unrestricted access to any city officer or employee and grants authorization to examine and inspect any record of any agency or operation of the city, to administer oaths and subpoena witnesses and compel the production of records pertinent thereto.
Mission Statement
Independence
Professional Standards
Peer Review
Government Auditing Standards require that our office undergo an external peer review once every three years to determine if our office’s internal quality control system was suitably designed and operating effectively. The results of our past peer reviews are located below.
July 1, 2018 to June 30, 2021
July 1, 2015 to June 30, 2018
July 1, 2012 to June 30, 2015
July 1, 2009 to June 30, 2012
July 1, 2006 to June 30, 2009
January 1, 2005 to June 30, 2006
Continuing Professional Education
awards
Our office is very proud to have received the following awards. In striving to bring the most relevant and informative reports, we hope to continue winning awards well into the future.
View Awards
- ALGA Press Release – 2023 Exemplary Knighton Award
- 2023 Government Finance Officers Association’s Professional Development Scholarship
- 2023 Association of Local Government Auditors’ Lifetime Achievement Award
- 2016 Association of Government Accountants’ Distinguished Local Government Leadership Award
- 2015 Voice of the People Award
- 2013 Knighton Award-Bronze
- 2011 Certificate of Achievement in Service, Efforts and Accomplishments Reporting – Gold
- 2011 Certificate of Achievement in Citizen-Centric Reporting
- 2011 Knighton Award-Silver
- Outstanding Service Award: Maria Torres- Kitamura, Editor of the 2010-2011 Local Government Auditing Quarterly
- 2010 Certificate of Achievment in Service, Efforts and Accomplishments Reporting-Sliver
- 2005 Knighton Award- Silver
View Gallery
(Mouse over the image to read more or click to zoom in)
Arushi Kumar, MPP, CGFM, CICA
City Auditor
Arushi Kumar is the City Auditor for the City and County of Honolulu. She began her audit career at the United States Government Accountability Office, the federal auditing agency, and worked on numerous audits of federally administered health programs, including Medicare medical record documentation, Medicaid Managed Care risks, Medicaid opioid use disorder services, and women veterans’ health care. She also worked for the City of Seattle Budget Office, overseeing the development, evaluation, and implementation of several high-profile, sensitive budget proposals, including a Transportation Network Company tax, domestic workers’ protections, and language accessibility of government services. Arushi earned a B.A. in Economics and a Master of Public Policy degree from the University of Virginia. She is a Certified Government Finanicial Manager (CGFM) and a Certified Internal Controls Auditor (CICA). Arushi is also a member of the Association of Local Government Auditors and AGA.
Troy Shimasaki, CRMA, CICA
Deputy City Auditor
Troy Shimasaki is the Deputy City Auditor and has over 20 years of performance auditing experience. He began his auditing career with the State Auditor’s Office in 2000 and joined the City Auditor’s Office in 2004. Troy was the lead auditor on several high-profile city audits including HART, ambulance fleet and operations, paratransit services, Board of Water Supply, and road maintenance. Prior to his auditing career, Troy worked at the State Legislature for eight years as a Legislative Aide and Committee Clerk in both the State House and Senate. Troy earned a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from the University of Hawai`i at Mānoa. He holds a Certification in Risk Management Assurance (CRMA) and is a Certified Internal Controls Auditor (CICA).
Christine Ross, MBA, CICA, CCA
Audit Manager
Christine joined the Office of the City Auditor in July 2014. She previously worked as an Administrative Specialist for the City and County of Honolulu, Department of Enterprise Services. Prior to her employment in government, Christine lived and worked in Las Vegas, Nevada as the Regional Human Resource Manager for one of the fastest growing title companies in the nation.
Christine earned a Master of Business Administration from the University of Phoenix and a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology with a Minor in Political Science from the University of Las Vegas Nevada. Christine holds the Certified Internal Controls Auditor designation and is a Certified Construction Auditor. She is also a member of the Association of Local Government Auditors, AGA, and the Institue of Internal Auditors.
At the Office of the City Auditor, Christine has the responsibility of analyzing City programs, departments, budgets, and complex processes to identify areas of efficiency and effectiveness, and conducts program performance audits.
Ciress Quidilla, CFE, CICA
Administrative Services Officer
Ciress Quidilla is the Administrative Services Officer. She joined the Office of the City Auditor in 2019 and initially served as an auditor. Ciress has two decades of professional experience working in the public sector. Prior to joining the office, Ciress previously worked as a Community Relations Specialist for the City and County of Honolulu, Department of Facility Maintenance, where the primary focus of her work was in public education and outreach. She began her government career in elections administration working 10 years combined at the state and local election offices. Ciress earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science with a minor in Sociology from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. She holds the Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE) designation from the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners and is a Certified Internal Controls Auditor (CICA) from the Institute of Internal Controls. Ciress is a member of the Association of Local Government Auditors.
Wayne Kawamura, JD, MBA, CISA, CRMA
Senior Auditor
Wayne joined the Office of the City Auditor in December 2004. Prior to that, he worked in legislative and policy analyst positions in the Hawai`i state government. He has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Government from Pomona College; a Juris Doctor degree from the William S. Richardson School of Law; and a Master of Business Administration degree from Hawaii Pacific University. Wayne is also an ISACA Certified Information Systems Auditor and holds a Certification in Risk Management Assurance.
Shena Bocalbos-Garcia, CICA, CFS, CCA
Senior Auditor
Shena Bocalbos-Garcia joined the Office of the City Auditor in 2016. She earned a Bachelor Degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Accounting with distinction from the University of Hawai‘i – West O‘ahu. She has ten years of experience in combined financial and performance auditing. She previously worked as an auditor in the assurance services division for one of the largest certified public accounting firms in Hawai‘i. Shena is a Certified Internal Controls Auditor, Certified Fraud Specialist, and Certified Construction Auditor. She is a member of the Association of Local Government Auditors, the Institute of Internal Auditors, and the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners. Shena served a three-year term as President of the AGA Hawai‘i Chapter and led the chapter in achieiving national Platinum Awards. She is also the current National Council of Chapters Representative for AGA.
Charisma Fojas, MA, CFE, CICA
Senior Auditor
Charisma joined the Office of the City Auditor in July 2011 after completing the office’s first internship program. She was a team member for audit projects that include the ambulance fleet and operations, camping program, authority for rapid transportation public involvement programs, and paratransit operations. She was the in-charge auditor for audit projects that include the funds appropriated for bicycle projects and the Section 8 program.
Charisma earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration degree in Accounting from Hawai’i Pacific University and a Master of Accountancy in Governmental Accounting from Rutgers University. Charisma is a Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE) from the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners and a Certified Internal Controls Auditor (CICA) from the Institute of Internal Controls. She is a member of the Association of Local Government Auditors, AGA, and Institute of Internal Auditors.
Jordan Alonzo, CFE, CISA
Auditor
Jordan joined the Office of the City Auditor in September 2018. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from the University of Hawai’i at Manoa and studied for one-year in Seoul, South Korea. Prior to joining the office, Jordan previously worked as a budget analyst with the Hawai’i State Legislature on the House Finance Committee. He holds the Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE) designation from the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners and is a Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA) from ISACA. Jordan is a member of the Association of Local Government Auditors, AGA, and Institute of Internal Auditors.
Kyle Detke, MEd, CFE, CGFM
Auditor
Kyle Detke joined the Office of the City Auditor in December 2019. He previously worked across both the United States and internationally. Kyle earned a Bachelor’s degree in psychology and sociology from the University of Colorado at Boulder. He also earned a Master’s in Education from the University of Nebraska Lincoln and post-baccalaureate teacher certifications in Secondary Social Studies 7-12 and English as a Second Language K-12 from the Nebraska State Board of Education. Kyle would later earn an accounting certificate at the University of California San Diego Extension, a graduate accounting certificate at Purdue University Global, and a forensic accounting certificate at Southern New Hampshire University. Kyle is a Certified Fraud Examiner and Certified Government Financial Manager, and is actively completing the Master of Accounting program at American Public University. He is a member of the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, AGA, Association of Local Government Auditors, and Institute of Internal Auditors.
Joshua Diaz, MPA, CFE, CICA
Auditor
Joshua joined the office of the City Auditor in May 2022. Prior to joining the office, he previously worked as a Performance Auditor at the Office of the Public Auditor in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) for four years. Joshua earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Criminal Justice with a minor in Public Administration from the University of Guam. He also earned a Master of Public Administration from Indiana Wesleyan University and is actively completing the Doctorate of Public Administration program at Liberty University. Joshua is a Certified Fraud Examiner and is also a Certified Internal Controls Auditor (CICA). He is a member of the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, AGA, Association of Local Government Auditors, and the Graduate School USA’s Pacific & Virgin Islands Training Initiatives (PITI-VITI).
Jerrald de Guzman, MAC
Auditor
Jerrald joined the Office of the City Auditor in December 2023. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice with distinction from Temple University and a Master’s degree in Accounting from Florida Atlantic University. Prior to joining the office, Jerrald worked as a Tax Returns Examiner at the State of Hawaii Department of Taxation conducting compliance audits. He is a member of the Association of Local Government Auditors, AGA and the Institute of Internal Auditors.
Ron David
Auditor
Ron David joined the Office of the City Auditor in January 2024. He earned an Associates’ degree in Liberal Arts as a part of the honors program from Leeward Community College and a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Accounting. Prior to joining the office, Ron was a full-time student where he worked as a Tax Intern for Oshima CPA preparing individual tax returns. He is a member of the Association of Local Government Auditors, AGA and the Institute of Internal Auditors.
