Association of Local Government Auditors

What is it that sets some audit reports apart from others? What is that seemingly mysterious factor that results in some reports winning awards, while others that may even describe similar audit projects do not make it over that hurdle?

In this article, we want to provide some pointers to focus on when writing audit reports and some insights from the 2008 Knighton Award judges.

One of the most challenging tasks that auditors face is writing in a manner that proves itself effective. In other words, writing in ways that are easily understood, convincing, and keep the readers' focus on critical observations. Without that focus, less significant observations may capture center stage. Effective audit reports enhance transparency and accountability in local government and, in so doing, motivate governing bodies and management to implement more effective practices and systems of control.

Effective audit reports rely on the foundations of solid audit planning and fieldwork. They are written to carry a reader who is not familiar with the subject along a voyage beginning with discovery, then comprehending the critical issues, and finally understanding the need to act on the opportunities for improvement. The most effective audit reports are often not lengthy, but rather, concise descriptions of the issues, the undesired impacts of those issues, and potential resolutions.

Good writers are almost always readers of great writings. The goal of writing is to accomplish a purpose. If the subject is fictional, then the writer aims to be entertaining and perhaps even enlightening. If the subject is non-fictional, then the writer aims to communicate knowledge toward a purpose. In both of these categories, great writers communicate in ways that fully engage the reader. Depending on the subject matter, those writers enable the reader to feel like they know the characters in the novel or to be able to grasp new concepts easily or to be able to understand and apply a new area of knowledge. Reading the great writers is one of the most effective ways to become a strong writer yourself.

You already know the basic points of strong and effective writing:

• Write sentences in active not passive voice ("John is reading the book," not "The book is being read by John"). There are, however, circumstances in which passive voice is appropriate:

• When the emphasis is on what's being done rather than on who or what is doing it. For example, The wedding cake was carried in by eight strong waiters. If the subject matter of the discussion is the wedding cake, then the wedding cake should be the subject.
• When the doer of the action can be inferred or is of no interest. The cake wasn't served until two in the morning. Who served it is of no concern to anyone.
• To avoid using "I."
• To avoid using all-male pronouns.
• To deliberately deflect responsibility or conceal information. For example, You don't want to blame the auditee because the order came from above, and you can't state it came from above because nobody wants to go on record.
• To vary sentence structure. The active voice can become tiring; that's why God invented the passive.[1]
• In sentences with an active voice structure, the subject does something to the object. Passive voice sentences are usually wordier than active voice sentences. Sentences written in active voice typically enable the reader to grasp the meaning more quickly and accurately.

• Write in the first person ("we observed," not "it was observed").
• Keep sentences short and to the point (If a sentence takes more than two full lines, it is often more understandable if broken into two or more sentences.)
• Be intentional ("We thank the department for..." instead of "We want to thank the department for...")
• Use word pictures, as appropriate, to help the reader understand your message.
• Pay attention to the spelling and grammar checking tools in your word processor; resolve the wording issues instead of ignoring them. (If the grammar checker sees an issue, some readers probably will, too.)

Remember that grammatical "rules" sometimes result in awkward sentences, so use your discretion. They are rules that we should follow unless we have a good reason for not doing so (e.g., as pointed out earlier, sometimes passive voice is appropriate). Issuing reports that influence the way in which our local government operates is particularly satisfying.

We have an excellent group of volunteer judges who evaluate the reports that contestants submit for a Knighton Award. We have new judges every year and endeavor to ensure that judges are not evaluating reports within their own shop-size category. After we receive the submissions, we ask the judges in each category (small, medium, and large) to indicate any potential or perceived conflicts of interest before we finalize the judging assignments. Every year judges review a significant number of reports. Their first challenge is to give every report in their assigned category a quick read and select those that they believe warrant further consideration for an award. We instruct each group of judges to limit their detailed review to no more than ten reports.

Following their collective selection of potential winners, the judges then conduct a thorough review of those reports and evaluate each report against established criteria. The judges also compile lists of the characteristics they observed in both the reports that won and in those that did not win. Some of the comments received from the 2008 judges follow.

Things that stood out in the winning submissions:

• Easy to read and understand; clear and concise
• Connections between policies and procedures and desired outcomes were clear and persuasive.
• Effectively used photos, charts, and tables in the report.
• Recommendations identified meaningful ways to reduce the targeted risk.
• Focused on main points and used visual aids to demonstrate key concepts allowing readers to understand report objectives and results with a minimal amount of distraction.
• Focused on future project phases, creating additional opportunities for savings.
• Management implemented several findings before the report was released.
• Presented technical details clearly.
• Data analysis was effective and the conclusions were clear, on-point, and persuasive.
• Linked conclusions to management decisions.
• Innovative and novel audit topic; addressed a topic which can be difficult to communicate to the lay person.
• The well-written report was highlighted with effective usage of charts and graphs.
• Concise presentation, timeliness, inclusion of auditees in the process, recovery of monies, insightful identification of causes, and auditee specificity in recommendation implementation.
• Discusses several breakdowns in controls.
• The report provided context to understand system failures as they related to system successes.
• The appendix contained helpful graphics, charts, maps, and pictures that explained the issues in more detail.
• Exceptional in its scope and potential for significant impact.
• This was an important audit of a high dollar project.
• Despite finding many problems with controls, the report keeps its tone positive and is constructive.
• The review's comprehensiveness and the detailed recommendations are impressive.
• Used benchmarks, pictures, charts, and graphs effectively.
• Well-written and to the point.
• Recommendations made sense.
• Focus on issues that interest the public.

Things that detracted from reports (and suggested ways to address them):

• Hard to understand for a cold reader (provide context and explain unfamiliar topics; ensure that a cold reader can easily grasp the important points).
• Too long (keep the report concise; note that "concise" does not necessarily mean "short," but to the point and not overly wordy).
• Too much information; not all of it of prime importance (focus on the important issues and leave the less important observations to a management letter or something similar).
• Difficult to read (it is generally best to use active voice; watch for words like "by," "for," "on," etc. that often signal passive voice).

I hope you find these tips and comments helpful. I believe that consistently observing these principles will ensure that your reports positively impact your local government.

The Awards Committee is already tweaking the processes for next year's awards program. If you would like to volunteer to serve as a judge, please send an email to bill.cook@edmonton.ca.

Bill Cook is the Awards Committee Chair and with Edmonton, Ontario. 

[1] Stilman, Anne, Grammatically Correct: The Writer's Essential Guide to punctuation, spelling, style, usage, and grammar, Writers Digest Books, September 15, 1997.