Performance auditing plays a key role at every level of government and one that has been evolving over time. Yet many people, when they hear the word “auditor” assume that this work is always focused on city, county or state finances and budgetary balance sheets.

“Performance auditors tend not to be CPAs,” said Douglas Jones, auditor in Johnson County, Kansas.  “I’m always getting questions from my family. They’ll ask ‘How are the books’ and it’s like ‘I don’t know. We don’t do that.’ We look at programs and activities . . . and identify areas or opportunities for improvement in conducting (government) work.” 

Jones was one of four guests on “The Power of Performance Auditing”, a Center for Accountability and Performance (CAP) webinar, presented by the American Society for Public Administration (ASPA) on June 17. The other panelists were Corrie Stokes, city auditor in Austin; Michelle Sanders, principal auditor in California’s State Audit office, and Mark Funkhouser, former Kansas City auditor (and later mayor), who is now CEO of Funkhouser and Associates. The webinar was moderated by Richard Greene, CAP chair. 

A key webinar theme was the impact that performance auditing has, with benefits accruing to better transparency and accountability, and more specifically, “cost savings, cost recovery, new revenue, safeguarding public monies and assets, as well as information for decision makers,” said Jones. “To me, one of the best things about performance auditing is the impact that your work can have on the community that you live in.” 

Throughout the 75-minute webinar, the four panelists delved into the evolution of the field, the importance of their independence from management, and the values they share as performance audits are planned, carried out and released to the public.

Funkhouser explained how the role has changed over time, with a focus on the efficiency and effectiveness of government spending growing to include explorations of government’s use of power; considerations of equity, and relevance of the issues covered to individuals in the community. “If we’re going to talk about how the money is spent and how the power is exercised, we really need to care a great deal about who benefits and who is hurt. If you really want to make an impact, you have to link together efficiency, effectiveness and equity,” he said.

Although the webinar was focused on state and local government, multiple references were made throughout to the Government Accountability Office (GAO) and international Yellow Book standards that guide performance auditing practices. 

“I tell auditors all the time that you don't let anybody else define your job,” Funkhouser said. “There are standards and you have peers you know and respect. They tell you what your job is, not the people you are trying to audit.”

 While some auditors are elected, all the presenters on this podcast were appointed and report to legislative bodies, which have a strong but varied role in determining audit topics, timing and approach. All emphasized the nonpartisan nature of their roles and the critical importance of independence from management and the entities they are auditing.

That independence is also affected by the local or state policies and practices that govern the way they can operate, the size of their budgets or staffs, and whether they have legal means – for instance, subpoena power -- to use if audited entities are reluctant to share data or documents.

As Stokes described her situation, the Austin audit office was created by a vote of citizens back in 1992. “And I think that helps,” she said. “And around 2014, we actually added another provision to even strengthen our independence further. It requires a super majority of council to remove the auditor. I think that helps us with our independence and helps us to be able to say what we need to say, regardless whose feelings we're going to hurt.”

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