The baseball season has just ended and the World Series has crowned another champion. It seems that every year, the winner of the Series is not necessarily decided by the stars, but the pinch hitter who comes in late in the game to deliver the big hit, or the relief pitcher that gets the big out. Being part of the ALGA Editorial Board “bench” has allowed me to be involved in ALGA in a limited role, but I had always hoped to contribute more. When our President, Harriet Richardson, called me and asked if I could fill in as Interim Editor, I was happy to pitch in and step up to the plate, so to speak. (I will warn everyone up front that I have never been able to resist the opportunity to interject bad puns!)
On the serious side, who is on the bench is not only important to sports teams but to any organization. When ALGA first formed in 1989, the so-called “geezers,” as they were affectionately called at a previous ALGA conference, were instrumental in establishing a forum for government auditors to network and share information. By 2005, ALGA has grown in membership and prestige through providing peer reviews to members, audit report abstracts from other shops, national and regional educational conferences, and public representation of our profession through the efforts of the advocacy committee. While the “geezers” have been invaluable during the past 16 years, ALGA’s effectiveness would not have been possible without others coming off the bench and contributing their time, efforts and talents.
The stars of our profession who participate in ALGA activities today will eventually be tomorrow’s geezers. Ugh, what a disturbing thought! My point being that ALGA (or any organization for that matter) should always be looking for fresh ideas and energy by encouraging, recruiting, and nurturing all its members. Our City of Stockton Auditor, Mike Taylor, in addition to supporting my activities with the Quarterly, has encouraged my colleagues to participate on ALGA peer review teams and to attend ALGA conferences when resources allow us to do so. Staff participation in ALGA events has a way of charging my batteries and getting me excited about practicing new ideas that I have learned. I would encourage all you future “geezers” out there to promote staff participation in ALGA events and committees, if you have not already done so.
With increased involvement of new ALGA members, I counsel everybody to always keep an open mind about ideas that improve our abilities to serve our profession. One of ALGA’s strengths is the readiness to consider ideas, even though they may not be popular initially. For example, whoever thought with the controversy over “Red Book” vs. “Yellow Book” standards, the City of Toronto would adopt GAO standards, while ALGA is considering forming Red Book peer review teams to accommodate shops that have legitimate reasons for following IIA standards. Of course, the above is hardly the only example. I know that our ALGA Board is always open to volunteers and consideration of ideas that can enhance both ALGA and the auditing profession.
Speaking of change, I would be remiss if I did not mention the contributions of our past ALGA Editor, Janis Koch. Janis, your former ALGA colleagues appreciate all your hard work and sacrifice in producing the Quarterly and your positive attitude. We wish you much success in your new endeavor. I know you like those review comments about as much as I do, but I’ll give you one more anyway: JOB WELL DONE!!
As we move forward, ALGA is establishing a new Communications Committee, which will include the editorial board and website functions. The chair of the Communications Committee will be Corrie Stokes, Assistant City Auditor for the City of Austin, Texas. Corrie is excited about the opportunity and is looking forward to working with ALGA members on making the Quarterly into an even more professional journal. Please join me in welcoming Corrie. I hope that all members will support her by contributing articles and audit abstracts, as well as contributing ideas that will make the Quarterly truly an outstanding journal.
As for me, my fifteen minutes of fame is over and it’s time for me to get off the field and hand the ball over to Corrie (told you at the beginning that I couldn’t resist!). It has been my pleasure to give back something to our very important profession. Thank you all for your support, and to the various shops that made contributions to the December Quarterly. I look forward to seeing many of you in May at the ALGA Conference in San Jose.
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