§ 13402

For the purposes of this chapter, all of the following definitions apply:

(a) “Auditor” means personnel employed by the state performing activities that provide independent, objective assurance or consulting services following audit standards as prescribed in Section 13886.5.

(b) “Entity head” means the individual responsible for a state entity’s overall operations, governance, and risk management system and internal control.

(c) “Entity management” means the personnel who are directly responsible for an entity’s activities, including the design, implementation, operating effectiveness, and ongoing monitoring of its risk management system and internal control. “Entity management” includes program, administrative, and financial management at all levels within the entity’s organizational structure, whose responsibilities may vary depending on their functions and level in the organizational structure.

(d) “Examination” means activities of the Department of Finance pursuant to the authority prescribed by Section 13070 and Sections 13293 to 13295.5, inclusive.

(e) “Internal control” means a process, including a continuous built-in component of operations, effected by a state entity’s oversight body, management, and other personnel that provides reasonable assurance that the state entity’s mission, goals, and objectives will be achieved, and that is an essential function of any risk management system.

(f) “Oversight” means the authoritative process of supervising, monitoring, and evaluating activities, operations, or individuals to ensure compliance with established standards, policies, and objectives. “Oversight” includes reviewing performance, identifying deficiencies, and taking corrective actions to promote accountability and effective governance.

(g) “Risk” means the possibility that an event will occur and adversely affect the achievement of an organization’s mission, goals, and objectives.

(h) “Risk management system” means the coordinated activity of directing and controlling the full spectrum of the state entity’s challenges or threats to achieving its mission, goals, and objectives, including its internal control.

(i) “State entity” means every state agency included in Section 11000 and the California State University that the Department of Finance determines is subject to the provisions of this chapter, as provided in subdivision (e) of Section 13406.

(Repealed and added by Stats. 2026, Ch. 255, Sec. 12. (AB 184) Effective September 18, 2026.)