I came across this book by accident. While I was on the phone telling Corrie Stokes, ALGA’s new Communications Committee chair, about the materials that Janis Koch had sent to me to forward to the new editor of the Local Government Auditing Quarterly, Janis had asked the publisher for a copy of the book so a ALGA member could review it. I decided to read it quickly before passing it on to Corrie then decided that this was such a great book, why not review it myself!

This book should not be on the library shelf of any audit shop – it should be on the individual desks of everyone who writes or edits audit reports! I have often thought about the writing style that auditors tend to develop during their careers. We have all taken report writing classes that teach us to write a “message-based” report, but many of us get so wrapped up in the message that we want to send that we can’t see what message the reader is actually receiving. This book demonstrates ways to modify your writing to send messages that are clear, concise, compelling, and persuasive. It also provides advice on how to organize your reports for impact and readability. The book comes with a handy quick reference card that includes the key points of each chapter.

The book incorporates a variety of methods, such as tables, text boxes, writing tips, and sample exercises to demonstrate the concepts in an easy-to-read format. It also includes a CD with sample answers to the exercises. The book provides several examples of text written in a style that auditors often use, followed by another example of that same text, rewritten to make it more clear, concise, and readable. The concepts are built around responding to the audit objectives and developing the report around the elements of an audit finding (although the author refers to as them as the “5 Cs” – condition, criterion, consequence, cause, and corrective action).

Sections of the book that I found particularly useful were how to write a persuasive report and how to get to the point by starting each section with an effective opening line that communicates a precise message using concrete, descriptive, and factual language.

My favorite part of the book is the Seven Deadly Sins of Wordiness section in Chapter 7, “Say It Concisely.” The author lists examples of each sin, and then provides a concise word or phrase to replace each one. She didn’t offer replacement words for two of the sins – filler phrases and empty words – because she says they should just be edited out of the report. I particularly liked her 164-word excerpt from an audit report that incorporates 24 uses of the seven deadly sins. She rewrote the paragraph using only 62 words – but it still sends the same message! As I read through this section, I couldn’t help but think about how many times I had committed wordiness sins in my own writing, including using the common auditor filler phrases, “During our review…” and “We noted that…” If you want to learn about the other sins of wordiness, you’ll have to read the book!