Association of Local Government Auditors

Being an effective auditor is one of the most difficult jobs in government, and I love the challenge. And I think training is the most critical component to an auditor's success, but only if we expand our thinking about training. An effective auditor induces change in government, which can be  a knotty and daunting endeavor. To be effective, the auditors need to be the smartest people in government, trained to diagnose problems and recommend effective solutions, using their analytical tools to develop insights and their independent position to good advantage.

But auditors are also trainers. We train others about good management practices. About government. About accountability. And we should train about attitude, by example.

I suspect your first reaction is a concern about violating auditing standards, but this training arises more from the body of our audit work and its associated impacts.

We teach about good management by means of the criteria in our audit reports. Sometimes the criterion is best practices, or accounting procedures, or internal controls. We also teach management the risks and the consequences of not achieving those standards. That may be their first and most important exposure to those ideas. Sadly, no one else is likely to be teaching managers about the principles of risk management.

Think about it: of all the training provided by your agency for its supervisors and managers, does any of it prepare them to assess risks and controls in their organization? Managers may only get rudimentary training in personnel practices, finance and accounting, legal issues, and team building. From their perspective, we may point out something they never realized was a problem, and our audit teaches them by example. Compliance audits are another matter of course; training managers to follow the rules shouldn't be an issue.

For performance audits directly related to agency missions, we often teach managers what we've learned through the advantages of an outsider seeing their work with fresh eyes, our ability to focus on an issue to conquer its complexity, as well as the analytical tools we can apply to massive databases of operational information.

We have another audience that can learn from our audits: the public. They will learn what the agency needs to improve, but we should also teach them the context. The audit may state that we found 11 errors, but were they among 400 transactions? The public sometimes wrongfully thinks that an agency that gets the small, easy things wrong will also get the big, important things wrong. That may be the case, or it may be that they are managing their risks with limited resources.

I also find it useful to explain the context in the background of the audit. The public and elected officials can better understand the agency and its performance when we include data on resources, workload, and results. In addition, describing the work processes can give the reader a richer understanding of the agency.

Accountability is the most important thing we teach, with many dimensions and audiences. For management, accountability is the expectation that the decisions and actions of the agency can be accounted for, that is, explained and documented. It is a "findings-rich environment" where an agency lacks good records, poorly justifies its decisions, or acts without a framework of policies. In contrast, a well-managed agency can show that public dollars were wisely spent because the leadership asks the same kinds of questions that an auditor would. Similarly, an agency that strives for continuous improvement is less likely to have big audit findings. They see the importance of tracking results and working for improvements.

For the public, it is important for them to know that auditors are holding agencies accountable. We represent the public when we conduct our work, and the public release of our reports is a key element of transparency. For that reason, agencies that are uncooperative or unresponsive during an audit need to understand we will be required to notify the public of a scope limitation. In that way, agencies learn the importance of accountability.

It is also important for the public to know that we are making government better. Following up on our recommendations is an important element of accountability. When agencies implement our recommendations and things improve, that is good news for the public. And when agencies do not take appropriate action, it is also important for the public to know.

We have many types of training covering various aspects of our responsibilities, but there is one topic that we simply don't teach: attitude. Of course our standards tell us we need to maintain objectivity - that's one aspect of our attitude, but there are others. These facets of attitude often tip the balance in how we approach our work, and I'm not talking about bias. We also communicate our attitude to others, intentional or not, which can affect their attitudes and actions.

Attitude One: You are trying to get positive improvement in an organization, not just issuing an audit report, or getting newspaper headlines. That means you need to engage with the agency, and figure out the best strategy to get change.

Attitude Two: Whenever possible, try to impart a positive, constructive attitude to the auditee that builds their confidence and fortitude to make the changes you will recommend. 

Attitude Three: Be the exemplary organization for those you audit. And the converse - don't criticize another organization when yours is equally guilty.

Auditors must have a passion for good government to sustain those attitudes for others and themselves. You can't teach passion but you can certainly impart it to others in your words, actions, and demeanor. An infectious passion among members of an organization can drive it to higher achievement of its mission. In these times, when the public has negative attitudes towards government, an outside auditor with a positive view can make a big difference. That is especially important when the changes you recommend are difficult.  

Incidentally, this passion can improve your recruiting and retention of staff as well. Talent is drawn to organizations that have vibrancy and a compelling purpose. When you work with that passion, it is noticed and talked about, and dedicated hard-working people catch it and want to belong.  

As an auditor, you must always try to create a passion to improve your own audit organization, and your own agency, but most importantly of all, you should never kill it with your auditing.