What is the opinion or view on this quote or what comments do you have on this? Be sure to raise thoughtful questions, analyzing relevant issues, build on ideas from this quote, synthesize across readings and discussions, expanding the class' perspective, and appropriately challenging assumptions and perspectives.

"The role of a performance auditor in government requires multiple skills and requirements for the position. The performance auditors' task is to find the reasons why the numbers reported by government managers are reported at those levels (Ives & Hancox, pg 3). In the process of trying to discover the reasons for the amounts reported, performance auditors review policies, procedures, and practices regarding programs, functions, and activities in the government. After reviewing that information, the performance auditor offers assessments, recommendations to improve operations as well as potentially recommending the dissolution of a program, function or activity if it has been found to have outlived its useful life (Ives & Hancox, pg 9). A part of the recommendations that performance auditors make is also helping management implement those recommendations as well as teaching them how to use any new technology that is suggested for use in the new procedures and policies (Ives & Hancox, pg 4). This requires performance auditors to keep up to date on the latest technologies that could be used for a program, function or activity in government. 

Since a performance auditor can discontinue government programs, functions and activities, they are held to a high standard of ethics, independence, professionalism, and competence. Performance auditors must maintain these standards in order to ensure public trust in their decision making and recommendations which also impacts the public opinion on the government managers that are in place and that the funds given to those programs, functions, and activities are being used efficiently and effectively (Ives & Hancox, pg 12). The performance auditor not only acts as a judge for the internal controls in government but also as a student, teacher and advisor, thus the role of a performance auditor can be complex and varied."

References:

Ives, Martin & Hancox, David. 2014. Government Performance Audit in Action 4th edition. Albany, New York 12208