Mark Funkhouser is City Auditor of Kansas City, Missouri and a regular columnist for the Quarterly.
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Written by Mark Funkhouser
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Public confidence in the integrity of the Government is indispensable to faith in democracy; and when we lose faith in the system, we have lost faith in everything we fight and spend for.
Adlai E. Stephenson Jr. (1900 1965)
The concept of accountability for public resources is key to our nations governing process and a critical element for a healthy democracy.
David Walker, cover letter to the 2003 Yellow Book
Trust in government in the U.S. has been declining for decades. Research shows that citizens trust in government is strongly correlated with their belief in whether the democratic system is working. Auditors have the potential to improve trust in government by contributing to accountability for effective, efficient, ethical, and equitable governance.
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Written by Mark Funkhouser
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“An effective public sector audit function strengthens governance by materially increasing citizen’s ability to hold their government accountable.”
The Audit Role in Public Sector Governance, an issue paper developed by the IIA and endorsed by a wide group of professional associations including ALGA
“Legitimacy and trust are essential values in all government undertakings, and performance auditing may contribute to strengthening these values by producing public and reliable information on the economy, efficiency, and effectiveness of government programs.”
INTOSAI’s Implementation Guidelines for Performance Auditing
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Written by Mark Funkhouser
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Government Auditing Standards are built on the premise that all levels of government should be held accountable for the use of resources. Auditors enhance government accountability by independently assessing whether financial and other information is presented accurately and whether programs are carried out efficiently, effectively and economically. But people care about more than use of resources. The public wants to know whether people are treated fairly. Citizen distrust of government and fear of the abuse of government power is well documented. That’s why I’ve proposed adding equity along with efficiency, effectiveness and economy to the performance aspects described in Government Auditing Standards. |
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Written by Mark Funkhouser
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The ideas of economists and political philosophers, both when they are right and when they are wrong, are more powerful than is commonly understood. Indeed, the world is ruled by little else. Practical men, who believe themselves to be quite exempt from any intellectual influences, are usually the slaves of some defunct economist. Madmen in authority, who hear voices in the air, are distilling their frenzy from some academic scribbler of a few years back….soon or late, it is ideas, not vested interests, which are dangerous for good or evil. John Maynard Keynes, quoted in Robert Behn’s Rethinking Democratic Accountability.
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Written by Mark Funkhouser
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In the movie II Postino, the scruffy postman falls in love with the most beautiful young woman in town. His prospects of winning her affection seem hopeless and in desperation, he asks the famous romantic poet what he should say to the woman or how he can speak to her. The poet answers "Metaphors."
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