Association of Local Government Auditors

I didn't have good answers.  I could tell stories, but I couldn't draw the map from new hire to seasoned auditor.

I walked back to my desk and decided that if I didn't have a map, I would try to make one.

I sat at my desk and started sketching out some ideas.

I started with the office processes.  I tried to remember my own experiences.  When I was first hired, I sat through meetings having no idea what the jargon meant.  People would say things like, "we had an ERT and now we're doing QA."  It didn't take too long before I started to understand the jargon.  Eventually, I even understood the process the jargon described.    At some point, I started seeing the process as limiting.  I got annoyed that my project followed the process, but another auditor got away with going outside the process.  And after some more experience, I began to understand that within a specific audit project we might modify our process to better address our work.  We weren't going around the process; we were using the flexibility within the process to get our work done better and faster.

I mapped my experience.  It was a simple map.  It described how an auditor might understand our office processes as they moved from new hire to seasoned auditor.

What about the steps in the audit process - planning, fieldwork, developing findings, quality assurance?  What about making mistakes?  What about taking risks?

I tried to map out each of those areas just like I'd done with the office process.

At the end, I had a map (see Exhibit on next page).  It was specific to the office I was working in.  My experiences and observations carried more weight than they should have.  It wasn't a perfect map.

Making the map helped me think about how an auditor develops.  If you have some time, try making your own map.  Use your own experiences and observations.  See if mapping progressions helps you think about how an auditor develops.

Making the map shaped how I worked with other staff in the office, especially new staff.  I didn't use it to evaluate anyone, but I used it to think about feedback I provided.  I think it made me a better supervisor.

I was pretty happy to read an article in a past edition of the Quarterly (June 2007) from the first new hire I supervised after I'd put together my map.  Here's a bit of what he wrote about "Nexters" in the workplace:

However, some Nexters mentioned that lack of training and development is a problem within the profession. They are not speaking of the 80 hours of biannual training to meet Yellow book standards, but the initial training can be crucial to develop and retain new auditors. Fellow Nexters feel there is no training on how to be an auditor. There is a sink or swim mentality within the profession that does not necessarily work well with all Nexters. One person said they were "given the keys to an office and told to 'have at it'."

When I first started, I was oriented to the office and the city, and was told to read the Yellow Book sections on performance auditing, but there was little connecting that to what we actually did day to day. I reviewed workpapers and past audits, but I still did not grasp auditing. There was nothing to tell me what a good workpaper looked like, or how to write effective planning summaries. Fortunately, my first supervisor scheduled weekly meetings with me to provide feedback on my work, including workpapers, interviews and other writings, and helped me with some of the terminology we use. At the time, I did not fully understand everything he told me, but as I became more experienced, I started understanding the concepts and how they related to the work we do. I understood the processes and how their sequence fit within the context of the audit and standards. This type of feedback may not be the norm in every audit shop, but maybe it should be. Although every shop varies in its approach, one person suggested creating a guide that would direct new auditors through the entire audit process from an engagement letter to the final report. In the short term, that would provide direction for people new to the profession. Even though some catch on faster than others, there's no need for potentially good auditors to get frustrated and leave the profession because of an initial lack of direction.

The entire article is worth a read and is available on the ALGA web page http://www.governmentauditors.org/index.php/quarterly-articles-mainmenu-123/308-the-nexters-june-2007.