Frederick Udochi enjoys his job as NeighborWorks America’s chief audit executive  because he says it “lets you see the mission being carried out from various perspectives.”

His responsibilities include reporting to the board and audit committee, conducting audit reviews, and ensuring that the corporation complies with relevant policies, regulations and laws. To carry out this work, he meets with NeighborWorks America staff at all levels and in every department. He says that while the programs and people are different, “what unites everyone is a sense of the common mission.”

His mission as the chief audit executive is to make NeighborWorks America “the gold standard” for accountability, transparency and exceptional performance in its industry. To do that, he makes sure that effective risk and control decisions have been made, and he prepares and submits periodic reports with recommendations for improvements. “To be the gold standard, we need to improve continually,” Udochi says.

Udochi joined NeighborWorks America in 2000 after years of working as a finance professional in the healthcare industry. He was the chief financial officer for the WoodBourne group, a healthcare organization, and director of finance at the Kennedy Krieger Institute, an affiliate of the Johns Hopkins medical system. Both nonprofit organizations are located in Baltimore, Maryland.

Udochi holds two masters degrees, one in business administration from the University of Baltimore and the other in health financial management from Johns Hopkins University. He holds professional designations of Certified Internal Auditor and a Certification in Risk Management Assurance from the Institute of Internal Auditors.
 

Guy C. Meruvia has 20 years of experience in risk-based, operational, financial and compliance audit engagements from his time working for the Institutional Shareholder Services, Vangent Inc. (a company acquired by General Dynamics), CGI Federal, and most recently, Northern Virginia Community College. He has led and managed an audit staff in the scope, analysis and reporting cycles of audits and has a strong background in internal control.

Meruvia holds a bachelor's degree in finance and a master's degree in Internal Audit Specialization from the University of Maryland. He also holds the following certifications: Certified Internal Auditor, Certified Fraud Examiner, Certified Compliance and Ethics Professional, and COSO Internal Control Certificate.

Office of the Chief Financial Officer: The NeighborWorks America chief financial officer is responsible for managing and reporting the corporation's finances. He is the key point of contact for the stakeholders listed below.

NeighborWorks board of directors: The board of directors includes the heads of the federal financial regulatory agencies, including the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., National Credit Union Administration, Federal Reserve System, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, and the Secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Internal and external auditors report directly to the NeighborWorks board of directors.
 
Office of Management and Budget (OMB):  Every year, the corporation prepares an annual budget submission for the OMB providing detailed financial and programmatic information regarding how the prior year’s appropriation was used, along with its plans for the requested funds for the next fiscal year. A recommended funding level for the corporation is included in the President’s budget request to Congress. We also submit our contigency plan for lapse in appropriations, which was updated Sept. 24, 2021. 
 
Congress: NeighborWorks America submits an annual budget justification to its Authorizing and Appropriations Committees in both houses of the U.S. Congress. This provides detailed financial and programmatic information regarding how the prior year’s appropriation was used, programmatic outcomes and accomplishments, plans for the coming year and other information. Read the budget justification.

Internal Audits

Photo Credit: Alexander Baxevanis

Internal auditing is an integral aspect of a broader oversight, auditing and reporting process used by NeighborWorks America to assure compliance with all applicable rules and regulations, as well as prudent use of every dollar expended. More information»

The mission of the Office of Internal Audit is to provide independent, objective assessments. The scope of its work is to determine whether the corporation’s risk-management, control and governance processes are adequate and functioning in the prescribed manner. This is usually determined during an audit review.

The chief audit executive of the Office of Internal Audit reports directly to the board of NeighborWorks America through the Audit Committee and administratively to the chief executive officer.

• Internal audit plan - FY 2022
• Internal audit charter
• Audit committee charter
• Internal audit reports