New Innovative Tool for Performance Auditors

“I love it when a plan comes together.”

Borrowing a quote from notable TV shows and movies.

As a leader in the oversight field, promoting the conduct of high quality performance audits in my organization and across the federal accountability community is an important task. Federal Offices of Inspector General face evolving challenges in providing oversight over an ever expanding and changing scope of responsibilities. These range from overseeing AI developments to billions of dollars in Emergency Relief funding. Ensuring that their staff--both new hires and experienced professionals--have the proper tools and resources for this important work is vital.

Recently the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency (CIGIE) launched its Performance Audit Navigator. I am proud of my work on this project–which included helping CIGIE on its needs assessment and content development, which provided the backbone and functionality of this tool.

What is a Performance Audit Navigator?

The Performance Audit Navigator is an automated tool for audit professionals that covers the full lifecycle of an audit – including research, fieldwork, report writing, quality assurance, and recommendation closure. A challenge we met on this project was developing an overall comprehensive framework to assist auditors in the 70-plus Inspector General offices with appropriate instructions and flags for users to follow their required agency policies in specific instances.

Specifically, according to CIGIE, the Performance Audit Navigator is a:

-- reference library for audit professionals to leverage different approaches in conducting performance audits.

-- knowledge base of resources, job aids, templates, and other useful tools to support audit professionals in performing their daily work, and

-- resource center to complement quality of work, maximize efficiency, and offer learning opportunities across the audit community.

The Performance Audit Navigator can benefit individuals new to performance audit work as well as those experienced in the field.

For those new to auditing, it provides: (1) a step-by-step guide on how to complete a performance audit; and (2) additional job aids and resources for easy-to-follow guidance in completing audits following Yellow Book standards.

For those experienced in audits,?it provides: (1) useful tools to develop newer employees and (2) offers new ideas for approaching audit tasks.

You can take a tour of the Performance Audit Navigator here.

Benefits of Cross-Agency Collaboration

Collaborating with a diverse team of professionals from over ten Offices of Inspector General on this project was a valuable leadership and learning experience. When engaging in such collaborations and continuous improvement projects—whether in my office or across the accountability field—I am always impressed with the knowledge, commitment to excellence, and dedication of the federal oversight community.

As an advocate of continuous improvement and technology use, I believe that the Performance Audit Navigator, by disseminating foundational performance auditing principles, knowledge, and techniques, will further professional development in the community. Ensuring that audit staff--both new hires and experienced professionals--have the proper tools and resources for this important work is vital.

For those not in the audit world, The Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency (CIGIE) is an independent entity established within the executive branch to address integrity, economy and effectiveness issues that transcend individual Government agencies and aid in the establishment of a professional, well-trained and highly skilled workforce in the Offices of Inspectors General. Go here to learn more.

Closing Question:

What innovations have you been involved in related to oversight, auditing, and accountability work? Please share your ideas in the comments.