"And the Academy Award Goes to..."

First, for those of you that do not know me, my name is Brandon Haynes and I will be the editing the Local Government Auditing Quarterly.  Although this is my first effort at editing a publication, I believe that I'll be able to produce a quality document you will enjoy. 

I would be remiss if I didn't issue a few thank you notes to begin my freshman issue.  Former editor Doug Whitworth in Austin, TX did an excellent job with the quarterly and really provided me with everything I need to be successful.  Brett Rangel of Oklahoma City, OK provided the new look of the quarterly you see here.  I think he did an awesome job, don't you?  Our fearless leader Corrie Stokes also had to manage 50 or emails from me as I tried to compile this document and I thank her for her patience and time.  And let's not forget the rest Communications Committee who've spent countless hours on conference calls trying to create a better quarterly for your enjoyment.  And finally, I want to thank YOU in advance.  Without your hard work and submissions we wouldn't have the Quarterly.  I encourage you to keep your submissions coming in.  My goal is to make the LGAQ as enjoyable a read as it is informative.  With that said, I hear the band playing me off the stage, so let's get to this edition.

Creativity is the theme of this edition of the LGAQ.  As the pace of governance quickens and attention spans shorten, we as auditors have to think of new and creative ways to reach stakeholders.  Whether it's having an eye catching cover, or shortening a 30 page document to 4 pages, we need to be creative in our presentations.  Furthermore, as many of you know, one may need a creative eye when looking at data.  Figuring out ways to not only convey data, as well as analyze it is as essential as being able to present it. 

Here in this issue we have several articles that will hopefully get your creative juices flowing.  First, Gary Blackmer tells us how the need to be creative is inherent in our duties, followed up by Mike Eglinski with tips on how to make audits more creative.  Next Mike Eagan challenges the notion of the "touchy, feely" auditor in his rebut to the book The Price of Government.  Next, in a submission from the Pacific Northwest, Kymber Waltmunson uses various graphics to help us understand the security of and costs related to purchase cards.  And wrapping up the articles is a piece by the editor on the need to market the auditing profession.

Thank you for the opportunity to be your editor and please, if you have any comments feel free to send them to This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .  Enjoy!

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