Many factors affect the decisions and impact of auditors, such as their legal powers, the professionalism in the government, and the scale and breadth of programs.
I spent my whole audit career either working for or being an elected auditor. I have no comparable experience answering to a legislative body, but I can talk about occasions in my 30 years when an elected auditor had obvious benefits. Before you label me a politician, you should know Read more
I’ve said the same thing many times over the years, yet I cringe when I hear someone say that audits shouldn’t have birthdays. Big findings take time, and arbitrary limits will exclude audit topics with major benefits for the public. Nature agrees: Complex or big creatures require longer gestations, up Read more
Beyond compliance-testing, I concluded long ago that economic development audits have extremely high audit risks and only produce uncertain benefits. My corporate-speak bottom line is this: economic development spending is giving public dollars to a few business people with the hope that it will enrich the entire community. I look Read more
For the past four or five years a bad trend has worsened, and the signs have grown more ominous. My auditing career began in 1985 and I experienced personal professional growth while the field of performance auditing also grew. The combination was like walking up an ascending escalator. Jewel Lansing Read more