Auditing the DoS

I just can't fathom an auditor performing an audit of the military. Here is an audit by the Special Inspector General for Iraq reconstruction. The first sentence in the summary is a statement that the work was impaired by the lack of cooperation of the Department of State. Auditors had to write the Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton to gain cooperation. And then auditors found "only a relatively small portion of program funds—about 12%—will be used to pay for advising, mentoring, and developing the Iraqi police forces." The rest of the funding was for security and life support. The auditors state "Without specific goals, objectives, and performance measures, the PDP could become a “bottomless pit” for U.S. dollars intended for mentoring, advising, and training the Iraqi police forces." Where else could you find this type of information? And what must it be like to do audit work in this climate ?

Auditors worldwide

I saw this article recently in the NY Times. Again, I'm astounded about audits operating in what seem to be less supportive environments. Reading this led me to investigate. I found the site of the International Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions. Both Zimbabwe and China are members. I first heard about this organization when I received notification from GAO about a presentation by the previous Comptroller General, David Walker.