A New Service Model: 
Auditor Roles in Government Performance Measurement

There are full- and half-day versions of this course.
CPEs: 4 to 9 hours, depending on format
Field of Study: Auditing (Governmental)

Learning Objectives

• Learn a framework of auditor roles and practices related to performance measurement that forms an entire discipline for government auditors to apply to increase the value they add to their organization.
• Recognize how to use these roles and practices to improve performance measurement and performance management (i.e., managing for results) of the organizations you audit.
• Determine how to change roles and practices used over time to keep adding more value as performance management in your government organization evolves.
• Learn about available informational resources, audit tools, and training for you and your colleagues to improve your capabilities in using these roles and practices.
• Determine which roles and practices offer the best opportunities for:
• Your audit organization or team to initiate or improve to increase the value you add to the government entity you serve.
• You to personally develop your proficiency.

Course Description

The instructor will present a framework that pulls various auditor roles and practices into a new service model for auditors to apply to improving performance measurement and management of government organizations.  The new auditor service model will be viewed in the context of models of effective governance, service delivery, managing for results, and organizational learning to demonstrate the value of the framework. Situational exercises will help participants understand different ways roles and practices can be used to improve performance measurement and management. Brief case histories of audit organizations that have used multiple roles and practices over the years will demonstrate different ways to change practices over time in response to an evolving performance management environment, as a way to keep increasing the value added by auditors to their government entity.  Available training opportunities and a website with informational resources and auditor tools for applying the roles and practices will be presented.  The course will conclude with a self-assessment exercise in which participants determine good opportunities in their own situation for developing or improving capabilities for applying specific roles and practices. 

Instructor Biographies

Paul D. Epstein, Principal, Epstein & Fass Associates, has over 25 years’ experience in performance measurement and improvement and citizen engagement in the U.S. and abroad, including strategy management using balanced scorecards. He has created audit competency models and trained auditors in performance measurement.  He has helped local, state, and federal governments; non-profits; and the UN.  He received the 2003 Harry Hatry Distinguished Performance Measurement Practice Award for lifetime achievement.  The work of a professional committee he chaired was cited in Congress’s report on the 1993 Government Performance and Results Act.  On the Governmen­tal Accounting Standards Board (GASB) performance measurement research team, he co-authored many GASB reports, including a “special report” on performance reporting criteria and a research report on citizens’ perspectives on performance reporting.   He is author or co-author of the books Using Performance Measurement in Local Government (1984, 1988), Results That Matter (Jossey-Bass, 2006), and Auditor Roles in Government Performance Measurement (The IIA Research Foundation, 2004), and articles titled “Evolving Roles for Auditors in Government Performance Measurement” in Local Government Auditing Quarterly (2000) and The Journal of Public Financial Management (2002).  Mr. Epstein has an engineering degree from MIT, and has taught graduate courses at NYU, the University of Hartford, and Baruch College. [TO TOP]

Stuart S. Grifel, CIA, CGAP, Audit Services Division, Palm Beach County Clerk & Comptroller’s Office. Mr. Grifel was a Performance Audit Supervisor for Broward County, Florida, and an Audit Supervisor and Corporate Internal Auditor for the City of Austin, Texas, where one of his key responsibilities was certifying the reliability of Austin departments’ performance measures.  Mr. Grifel has over 25 years experience in government performance measurement, operations review, performance auditing, and productivity improvement. Mr. Grifel has assisted many jurisdictions in performance measurement and improvement while at KPMG Peat Marwick, the National Center for Public Productivity at Rutgers University, the Innovations Group, the City of Tampa, Florida, and Polk County, Florida.  Mr. Grifel has also trained numerous public managers in performance measurement and productivity improvement.  Mr. Grifel co-authored the book Auditor Roles in Government Performance Measurement: A Guide to Exemplary Practices at the Local, State, and Provincial Levels (The Institute of Internal Auditors Research Foundation, 2004).  Mr. Grifel has served as President and Governor for the IIA Austin Chapter, and is currently a member of the IIA International Membership Committee.  Mr. Grifel has an MBA from Suffolk University in Boston, and an MPA from Baruch College, City University of New York. [TO TOP]

Stephen L. Morgan, CIA, CGAP, CGFM, CFE, is the city auditor of Austin, Texas, directing a full scope audit office that conducts performance audits, fraud investigations, and consulting engagements.  Mr. Morgan played a key leadership role in helping the City of Austin evolve its performance measurement and management system into a model for other government organizations.  Before joining the City Auditor’s Office, Mr. Morgan was an evaluator in the U.S. Government Accountability Office’s National Productivity Group.  For many years he has also been an instructor, designing and delivering courses on performance measurement, management, and auditing. His IIA offices have included president and governor, Austin Chapter, chair of the International Government Relations Committee, and currently North American director and Chairman of the North American Board.  In January 2001 Mr. Morgan was appointed (reappointed in 2005) by the Comptroller General of the United States to the Advisory Council on Government Auditing Standards. He co-authored two textbooks: Performance Auditing: A Measurement Approach and Auditor Roles in Government Performance Measurement:  A Guide to Exemplary Practices at the Local, State, and Provincial Levels.  In May 2007, Mr. Morgan accepted the NIAF’s Excellence in Government Performance and Accountability Award from the Comptroller General of the United States.  Also, in March 2002, Mr. Morgan became the fourth annual recipient of the Harry Hatry Distinguished Performance Measurement Practice Award from the American Society of Public Administration honoring his lifetime of contributions to public service. Mr. Morgan holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in government (with honors) from the University of Texas at Austin; he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. He also holds an MPA from the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs of the University of Texas. [TO TOP]

Richard C. Tracy, Consultant (retired Director of Audits, City of Portland, Oregon) has over thirty years of experience helping governments improve their efficiency and effectiveness. He served as Director of Audits for the City of Portland, Oregon, and as Performance Audit Manager for the California State Office of the Auditor General.  Mr. Tracy also served as Chair of the Government Auditing Standards Advisory Council and is currently a member of Governmental Accounting Standards Board. In 2005, he was awarded the Harry Hatry Distinguished Performance Measurement Practice Award from the American Society of Public Administration.  Since his retirement from government service in 2005, he has provided consulting services to a number of governments around the country including Sacramento County, CA, New York City, and Multnomah County, Oregon. He has spoken extensively over the years on financial and performance management in government. [TO TOP]