Almost three years after an audit detailed an unclear relationship between the Denver Art Museum and the city and issues with inventory practices, a follow-up report by Denver Auditor Timothy O’Brien found that the city still does not know if the museum is properly keeping track of city-owned art.

“Art ownership and sales are receiving extra scrutiny around the world, which is why Denver should know which art it owns and make sure that art is where it should be at the museum,” O’Brien said in a news release.

The mayor’s office and the museum disagreed with the auditor’s recommendation to develop a new operating agreement, according to the news release, adding that as a result, “several risks remain, including uncertainty about city-owned art at the museum.”

A new operating agreement was meant to include rights and responsibilities, and spell out asset ownership, addressing the original audit when the museum did not provide complete access to its collections management system, according to the news release.

In response to the auditor’s original report in 2021, the mayor’s office had said considering a new operating agreement was “premature until the other recommendations” have been evaluated and implemented, which would allow parties to “determine the best method to approach” identified gaps.

Museum authorities also said the parties to the agreement should determine the “best method” to approach gaps identified by the auditor.

“Acknowledging the complexity and history of relationship, the parties are committed to exploring the appropriate method to evaluate the items identified in Table 1 and reserve the opportunity to identify the best tools and processes to achieve mutually beneficial outcomes,” the museum told auditors.

The auditor said that the mayor’s office and the museum agreed to implement 21 of 22 audit recommendations, but less than half were fully implemented and 10 were not implemented at all.

The city “continues to take the museum at its word and does no independent asset reviews or even sampling of the museum’s assets,” the news release said.

The museum has implemented audit recommendations improving its art inventory planning and database control practices, the auditor found, so that it can better account for and protect art.

But the auditor said the museum’s board has not communicated attendance expectations or taken action to ensure that it meets diversity goals.

The museum gets funding from the city every year for operations and maintenance of its galleries and buildings, according to the news release. It said that in 2018 and 2019, the city gave more than $20 million each year, including bond funds for building projects.

The city also provides insurance coverage for the museum art and buildings, according to the news release.