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Request for Input on the Peer Review Program - December 2002 Print E-mail
Written by Jim Williamson   
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Revising the Peer Review Program to address recent and proposed changes to Government Auditing Standards is an important task for the Peer Review Committee. The Committee met in Oklahoma City on November 16th and 17th to discuss this issue as well as other aspects of the program. Following are a few of the items discussed at the meeting.

Independence
Standard
A subcommittee consisting of Amanda Noble, Bill Greene, and Joanne Griggs has been developing program modifications to address the new independence standard. The primary changes relate to new requirements regarding non-audit services and additional criteria regarding organizational independence. After related Peer Review Program changes have been finalized, the Committee intends to issue a guide on the new independence standard. This guide is expected to be in a format similar to last year’s publication What Small Shops Should Know About Passing a ALGA Peer Review, which was distributed at the 2001 annual conference in Lake Tahoe and is available on the ALGA web site.
The Committee is asking ALGA members to forward questions or issues they would like to see addressed in the Committee’s guide on the new independence standard. Additionally, the Committee is very interested in hearing from ALGA members that have devised a plan for implementing the new independence standard in their shop. Please forward your input to one of the subcommittee members working on this project. Contact information appears at the end of this article.


Additional Program Changes In addition to the program changes that will be required by the imminent and comprehensive revisions to Government Auditing Standards, the Committee is reviewing the administrative aspects of the program (e.g., assigning review teams, formal agreements for the review, paying for review costs, fieldwork methodology, report format and content, etc.).
The Committee is seeking input from ALGA members regarding program administration. Please forward any suggestions or critique of the program to me using the contact information below. Such input would be particularly useful now but is always welcome at any time.


Other Committee Activities
More detailed information about the program has been added to ALGA’s web site and links to actual peer review reports will be added in the near future. The Committee would like to use the web site to make available as much useful information as possible to the membership as well as those non-members that may be interested in our organization. The Committee would like to thank webmaster Gary Blackmer (who’s day job is City Auditor for the City of Portland, OR) for all of his efforts and assistance in helping us enhance the program web page.
The Committee will once again conduct the oneday training session Conducting a ALGA Peer Review in conjunction with the annual conference. This course has received very positive feedback from participants and is an excellent way for members to gain an insight and understanding of the peer review process. Watch for the conference brochure for more information.

Finally, the Committee would like to stimulate dialogue on and demystify the peer review process. Since the ALGA Quarterly is the glue that binds our organization, there is no better place to do this. If you have a question about how Government Auditing Standards are interpreted during a ALGA peer review or any other peer review related topic, please forward your question to me using the contact information below. The Committee will publish question(s) and answer(s) in the ALGA Quarterly. If desired, anonymity will be maintained.


  Jim Williamson is Assistant City Auditor of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma and Chairman of the ALGA Peer Review Committee.
 
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