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Winter Issue 2011
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- Dave Yost's Letter
- Performance Audit Legislation:
A Priority for 129th General Assembly
Priority Legislation Focused on Performance Audits
SIDEBAR:
Other 129th General Assembly Bills of Note
- Dave Yost's Letter
- SPOTLIGHT:
Performance Audits:
Promoting Government
Efficiency & Accountability
Leaner, more effective services should be the goal of all successful organizations, including government at every level.
Performance Audits:
How do they work?
SPOTLIGHT: continued
Benefits
L.E.A.P. Fund
“Skinnying” Down Government
from the Schoolhouse to the Statehouse
Considering implementing a Performance Audit? Additional Resources
- Download pdf
- Conferences Currently Offered
Annual Local Government Officials Conference
Emerging Trends in Fraud Investigation and Prevention Conference
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SPOTLIGHT: Performance Audits: Promoting Government Efficiency & Accountability continued
L.E.A.P. Fund
One of the challenges of performance audits is it takes time, effort and funds to perform these audits and implement the resulting recommendations. Cost can be a significant hurdle for those seeking to utilize performance audits.
It is for this reason that Aduditor Yost worked with the legislature to create the Leverage for Efficiency, Accountability and Performance Fund (the L.E.A.P. Fund), a $1.5 million fund that would advance to state agencies and local governments the cost of a performance audit to be repaid from the savings.
- If your agency is considering implementation of a performance audit, the following resources may be helpful:
Performance Measurement Resources for Local Government (GFOA and ICMA)
Performance Measurement in Practice (ICMA)
Performance Measurement Documents - especially Establishing an Integrated Performance Measurement System (Oak Ridge Associated Laboratories)
Painful but Productive Discoveries: From Performance Measurement to Performance Management (Harvard Business)
Not only would the L.E.A.P. Fund remove funding as the most serious barrier to using performance audits, it also would provide additional incentive for the agency or government to implement the findings and recommendations.
“Skinnying” Down Government
from the Schoolhouse to the Statehouse
The overarching reality for policy makers at the state and local level has been called the budget “gap,” but it might better be termed the budget “abyss.”
In order to face this challenge and position Ohio for economic competitiveness in the future, leaders need to make tough choices about spending taxpayer dollars. Every level of government must account for how those dollars are spent.
Performance audits are an indispensible tool in this effort. Performance audits, however, are not just a tool
to help governments face a budget crisis.
While balanced and sustainable budgets can be a direct benefit of performance audits, these audits also can help produce effective and efficient government that delivers on its promises to its citizens over the long haul. By measuring a program’s performance, leaders ultimately manage that performance more effectively.
And that is what public service is all about: better services and opportunities for all Ohioans.