Greetings everyone.  The theme of this quarter's LGAQ is Integrity.  With the Presidential election now in full swing, and as many lawmakers come up for re-election, Integrity will be a theme you'll be hearing a lot from now through November and beyond.  But Integrity is not just reserved for elected officials.  Based on our role in government, auditors must be of high integrity.

Although some audit chiefs are elected and others are appointed, we generally do not serve at the mercy of anyone.  There is not a lot of public scrutiny of how we perform our audits (the product yes, but not necessarily how we get there), not many lobbyists trying to influence our reports, and not often do our jobs ride on a particular audit or finding that makes one elected official look bad.  In general we fly under the radar, but are capable of striking anywhere at anytime.  Flying under the radar gives us the opportunity to tell "what is" without having to cater to another's interest.  Who else has that opportunity? 

Because of this opportunity, the public depends on us to be an independent, objective observer of government and to tell them, through elected officials, when problems occur.  Since we have this power we must use it properly so decision makers can have a clear, unbiased picture of what is actually happening.  This means reporting what is, and not the extremes good and bad if it is not warranted.  It means making connections to gain perspective, but putting those connections in perspective so they won't taint facts.   It means wielding the power we have responsibly for the betterment of our governments.  Who better to do this than us?  

We've got an excellent quarterly for you chock-full of articles on Integrity and other subjects.  In this issue Gary Blackmer tells us what Grits have to do with Integrity.  We'll learn how to create an ethical culture within an organization, how to identify unreported fraud and how the use of hotlines is growing throughout government.  Plus, don't miss the annual conference recap and this year's Knighton and Website Award winners.  Finally, we have a last word on Creativity (last issue's topic), a first word on the Stewardship (Spring 09 topic) of public funds, and a cool cartoon on the 9 Types of Auditees that I know you'll like.  Take care everybody. 

Brandon Haynes
LGAQ Editor

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