Audit Quality

We are dedicated to providing independent, high-quality information that our stakeholders can use for decision making. We believe our internal quality control system to be an integral part of the process for audit quality and meeting that vision.

Government Auditing Standards, issued by the Comptroller General of the United States, can be applied to both financial and performance audits. These standards are followed in financial and performance audits when required by laws or regulations or when an audit organization elects to follow them. Our Office follows Government Auditing Standards in our financial statement audits, federal single audits, and State agency and school district performance audits.

Government Auditing Standards describe general, field work, and reporting standards. Included in these standards is a requirement that each audit organization have an appropriate internal quality control system in place. An appropriate internal quality control system encompasses:

• Policies and procedures that provide assurance that applicable audit standards are followed in the audits we perform.
• An external peer review, in which reviewers independent of our Office determine whether we have adequate quality control policies and procedures and that those procedures were followed when we performed our audits.
• An ongoing monitoring process that includes procedures that we perform in the periods between an external peer review to determine if our policies and procedures are appropriate and being effectively applied.

We meet this requirement by having established an internal quality control system that, in general, includes but is not limited to:

• Audit manuals that provide policies and procedures that we use when we perform our audits and prepare our audit reports in accordance with Government Auditing Standards.
• An external review of our work and reports every 3 years by experienced auditors from other state audit organizations administered through the National State Auditors Association.
• An internal inspection process that will be performed in the years between an external peer review by members of our Office who were not assigned to the audits reviewed.