Another reason to blog. LOL

There is an article today in the Oregonian (If I can ever find it on their website I will add a link - but that's another story in of itself.) about as you get older, brain exercise is needed as well as physical exercise. Especially recommended are word or math puzzles, but keeping a journal is on the list also. So...blogging can help exercise your mind and keep your brain healthy.

UPDATE: More exercise for the aging brain. I am on the right track. Here is an article about how internet use is good for the brain.

Judgement - Can it be learned?

No matter how complete the audit plan, judgment is always needed in an audit. Can it be learned? I think so, but it requires time and patience. Judgment is developed by learning from our previous attempts. For example, perhaps not enough time was spent gathering evidence and a finding falls apart under scrutiny. (Hopefully that scrutiny occurred during the quality control process and not in management's review of the draft report.) If an auditor can take the time to reflect and receive feedback on how the work might have been stronger or more complete, then his/her ability to be more effective next time is increased. Supporting a finding does not require 100% surety. Judgment allows you to decide when the preponderance of the evidence has been reached.

Auditors' Part in the Financial Crisis

Here's an article in a newspaper in Scotland about what part auditors had in the current financial crisis.

Wow! Citizen Satisfaction

I went to DEQ this morning to renew my vehicle registration and to take the vehicle emission test. I couldn't have spent more than 10 minutes. I drove in immediately with no wait. The employee was courteous and clear in her instructions. I went inside, completed my registration form, and a few minutes later, the employee took my fee. I had many methods of payment available. After I paid she gave me my tags for the license plate and I was done. I hadn't done this in years. My husband usually takes the car in. But in the past, I can remember lines and waiting to get the vehicle emission test completed. Then I had to submit the registration and test results by mail to DMV and wait for my tags to put on the license plates. You can even renew your registration online! This is one of those moments of truth where government looks good. And, from an auditor's perspective, the whole process looked efficient.

Storytelling

There's a blog post that I just have to tap into. It's from one of my favorite blogs, Community Indicators. So thanks for pulling together these thoughts. The post references other bloggers and writers who are discussing how statistics do not always evoke a response as strongly as emotions might and also that a good story is more memorable than data. When I followed the link and read about the finding that when statistics were part of an appeal for donations the amount given dropped, I wondered - is an audit report not as effective as it could be because we lay out the factual, statistical evidence? But the second reference to A Case for Web Storytelling reminded me of the work that we put into a report so that it has a cogent message. Yes, we rely on statistics and fact, but we also try to put it into a story that management and the public can relate to.

Interesting graphics

Audits can be very dense. It is difficult to simply describe complex ideas and findings. I am always on the look out for new ways to visually communicate ideas and reduce the reliance on writing. In a GAO audit that was issued recently I found some very interesting examples of visual communication of complex ideas. See the audit, pages 3, 11, 14, and 18. The graphics show the U.S. Department of Transportation's efforts over time to reduce traffic fatalities, illustrate the consequences of falling behind a damaging trend that with early action could have been reduced, and the evolution and spread of portable electronic devices in the United States to illustrate how this trend may need to be addressed for accident prevention. All very dense concepts but effectively communicated in visual diagrams.

Ethics in Auditing

Auditing principles almost require that an auditor maintain a permanent out-of-body experience. In order to meet the ethical standards of integrity, objectivity, serving the public interest, professionalism, and not misusing their government position, auditors constantly weigh possible actions against these standards. Not only must we in fact meet these standards, but also must guard against the perception that we are not. In order to do this, auditors first think about a course of action and then pause and reflect on the effect of that action to consider whether it meets the ethical test. It is a very high standard, but necessary. The credibility of our work, audits, depends upon it.