Bus audit creates discussion about purpose

Here is an interesting news article about an audit of the transit system in Houston. A state audit has caused a debate about what the purpose of the transit system is. Is it efficiency? One metric considered was the operating ratio or the percent of the cost that is paid for by the fare. Increasing this metric requires reducing or eliminating routes that serve lower numbers of people. But then this raises the issue of equity or whether the transit authority's purpose is serving the low income, those who have no other means of transportation. Quality can be measured in another way - the comfort of the trip. Some think that using that performance measure light rail transportation is better than bus routes - because light rail is quieter, more comfortable, and more reliable.

A very interesting discussion and illustrates the value of an audit. Audits can improve the quality of the public discussion. This article reminds me of the debate that is taking place in my own jurisdiction, but without the benefit of an audit to clarify issues. See here, here, and here.

I became a fan of San Francisco on FB today

I became a fan of San Francisco on Facebook today. My son invited me to join FB several months ago and I have to admit it has been fun. I am careful though who I let friend me and also what I say knowing that nothing is private. But I have reconnected with some old high school friends that I never would have found without it. Also, I've been able to communicate with my son and his fiance in different ways. However, my daughter still remains appalled that I am a member.

But, if you are a member of FB you should check out the official site of the City and County of San Francisco. I find most government web sites difficult to penetrate or understand. The developers of these sites do not use language that is easily understood by a citizen and also have not thought about what a citizen might be looking for. That old auditing from a "citizen's point of view" thing. But SF's Facebook site was penetrable and actually interesting. It managed to talk about governmental things in a way that was interesting to a citizen.

Well known auditor on NY Times Front Page

I opened the NYTimes web site this morning and saw a familiar face. Mark Funkhouser, previous Kansas City auditor, is well respected by the local government auditing community and was a leader in auditing. I use some of the columns that he wrote for the Local Government Auditors Quarterly to train new staff. He ran for mayor of Kansas City and won. The transition from auditor to mayor has not been easy.

Back in the game

I have been gone for a while. Some of you know the reason. I had many other things on my mind unrelated to auditing. Although, now that I think about it, it was related to outliers. When you have cancer you can look at statistics and play the odds, the outliers. Auditing posts to follow.

Lack of confidence in media

When I read a balanced and informative news article I think many times that auditing and journalism are somewhat similar. I wonder if this trend is related to this one. It makes me remember why it is important to follow audit standards and maintain our independence and objectivity.

Descriptors of an auditor

I just finished Freakonomics. It was an easy read and interesting. It would be a good text for a beginning class on auditing. At the end of the book is some "bonus material." Included is the original NY times article about Steven Levitt written by Stephen Dubner, the co-authors of Freakonmics. Mr. Dubner describes Mr. Levitt as a detective, an intuitionist, and an accidental provocateur. I think these are also descriptors of performance auditors.

Possibilities are opening up

I've followed Web 2.0 and pondered how an auditor might use this technology. Here is an exciting example. The UK Guardian has developed a new service called "Open Platform." (H/T Portland Mercury Blogtown) The newspaper is opening up its news content and data sets. Most interesting is the "Data Store." Take a look. This has great potential as a way to make auditor data sets available for public use. The Portland Mercury wonders if it is the future of journalism. I wonder if it couldn't also be in the future of auditors.