ACCOUNTABILITY IN MUNICIPALITIES - THE USE OF INTERNAL AUDITORS AND AUDIT COMMITTEES

Through the assistance of professional internal auditors and well-designed audit committees, municipalities can run a leaner operation and monitor the efficiency and effectiveness of their operations. To be effective, professionally independent internal auditors should report their findings to an unbiased audit committee, which oversees any necessary implementations. Unfortunately, the results of this study indicate that only 11 percent of the respondents are employed in municipalities that have both internal auditors and an audit committee. Further, many existing audit committees only select external auditors and receive their final report. In such cases, utilization of the services of internal auditors and audit committees is suboptimal. Effectiveness of both can be increased by adhering to the professional standards developed by the Institute of Internal Auditors and the auditing standards developed by the federal government.