LOS ANGELES – In response to an independent operational review conducted by the renowned “Big Four” international accounting firm KPMG, the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA) today reaffirmed its commitment to modernizing its financial operations and resolving systemic contracting and payment challenges.
LAHSA commissioned the review earlier this year to strengthen its financial practices.
The review found that payment delays stemmed from a combination of interconnected operational issues rather than any single underlying cause. It also identified opportunities to improve workflow efficiency, reduce administrative bottlenecks, strengthen cash management practices, and modernize financial systems. LAHSA has already implemented many of these recommendations.
"The KPMG review provides valuable validation of challenges we have already identified and begun addressing," said Interim LAHSA CEO Gita O’Neill. "The report also offers a roadmap for continued improvements that will strengthen our financial operations, support our provider partners, and ensure public funds are administered effectively and responsibly."
KPMG’s review observed that organizational and operational factors drove LAHSA’s challenges, including complicated administrative and contracting workflows, manual processes, the complexity of managing multiple funding sources, and the underutilization of data systems that could help improve operations.
Many of the report's recommendations align with corrective actions that LAHSA has already implemented or is beginning to implement. These efforts include:
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Launching a payment backlog reduction strategy and clearing outstanding payables.
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Better coordinating with funders to improve cash flow and pay providers on time
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Implementing new financial reporting tools and dashboards to improve visibility into operational performance
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Strengthening invoice processing and monitoring procedures
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Improving communication and guidance for contracted service providers
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Working towards standardizing processes and increasing accountability across departments
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Accelerating financial reconciliation and reporting to make data more accurate and timely
The report also identified several long-term opportunities to modernize LAHSA's financial operations.
To address those recommendations, LAHSA is developing improved reporting tools to help leadership and staff see the agency's finances, provider payments, and funding activities in real time. These improvements are expected to reduce reliance on manual reporting, improve decision-making, and increase transparency for funders, elected officials, providers, and the public.
“We have a clear roadmap for strengthening LAHSA's financial operations and improving the experience of the providers who deliver critical services throughout Los Angeles County,” said LAHSA Interim CEO Gita O’Neill. “We’re implementing substantial process improvements that will help us manage public resources more efficiently and effectively.”
LAHSA has also initiated a procurement process to identify a qualified partner to support the implementation of the report's longer-term recommendations, including systems integration, workflow redesign, automation, and financial operations modernization.
Interested parties can learn more about the Independent Fiscal Management RFQ on LAHSA’s website: https://www.lahsa.org/news?article=1075-2026-independent-fiscal-management-rfq&ref=funding
