New GAO Standards: Avoiding Threats to Audit Quality was originally published by Katherine Barrett and Richard Greene, principals of Barrett and Greene, Inc. Their article features Leita Hart-Fanta and her efforts to make all auditors aware of Government Accountability Office (GAO) standards updates.
New GAO Standards: Avoiding Threats to Audit Quality
With a new set of quality standards for government audits coming into effect on December 31, 2025, thousands of state, city, county and other auditors of government operations need to take a close look at their operations and whether they fully adhere to the revised quality standards in the 2024 GAO Yellow Book.
“Significant changes need to occur and a lot of people are not even aware,” says Leita Hart-Fanta, who trains performance auditors and focuses on continuing education needs through her company, Yellowbook-CPE.com.
The Yellow Book is a kind of bible for the government audit profession. It contains Generally Accepted Government Auditing Standards (GAGAS), with new editions, as well as periodic technical updates published by the Government Accountability Office.
As a teacher and former state auditor in Texas herself, Hart-Fanta provides classes on the new quality standards. She also publishes a website loaded with frequent podcasts and blog posts geared to the performance audit community.
The details of how an audit shop is run is not just ‘inside baseball,’ but of clear concern to the entities that experience audits; to the decision-makers who are guided by findings, and to the taxpayers who can use performance audits to get a better understanding of how government programs operate.
6 Threats to Audit Quality
In a recent blog post on Yellowbook-CPE.com, Hart-Fanta detailed 6 Six Threats to Audit Quality. The piece structures around internal risks aligned with quality standards in the 2024 Yellow Book Chapter 5.
Here are some of the topics covered, followed in each case by commentary from Hart-Fanta.
Organizational complexity and audit organization. “When your organization is overly complex, it creates opportunities for things to fall through the cracks. Examples include missed reviews, inconsistent training or unclear accountability for who signs off on what.”
Strategic and operational decisions. “Sometimes leadership makes choices . . .(that) stretch staff too thin or prioritize flashy projects over foundational quality.” Decisions that prioritize “volume, politics, or speed over quality” can adversely affect an audit’s impact, unrealistic deadlines, shifting priorities, and an “emphasis on ‘checking the box’ over meaningful conclusions.”
Characteristics and style of leadership. “A micromanaging, indecisive or disengaged leader is a threat to audit quality.”
Organizational resources. “Audit quality suffers when auditors are expected to do their jobs without adequate support whether that’s time, staffing, tools or training.”
Law, regulation, professional standards and operational environment. ”Being out of sync with evolving standards (GAGAS, state law or internal policies) can cost you your reputation and trigger rework.”
About Barrett and Greene, Inc.
Katherine Barrett and Richard Greene are the principals of Barrett and Greene, Inc. Over the course of over 30 years, they produced much-praised analysis, research and writing about state and local government management and policy. Their breadth of public sector knowledge is wide. They often specialize in topics such as state and local performance management and measurement, human resources, budgeting, social services, performance audits and so much more. Read the entire Barrett and Greene, Inc. story here.
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