Welcome

I am often asked to explain what our office does, how we perform our audits, and the results of our work. You will be able to find answers to these questions below.                                                                                                                                                                

First, what our office does.

There are three major types of audits for which we are responsible.

Performance audits, the State’s financial statement audit (ACFR) and the State’s single audit (which looks at the usage of federal funds by the state). All of these audits focus on the accountability of the State to its citizens, from both a financial and service delivery perspective. I’m particularly proud that we’ve successfully implemented performance auditing in our office because these audits provide valuable insight into whether government programs and operations are working effectively and efficiently and provide recommendations for improvements. I invite you to email suggestions for future performance audits.

How we perform our audits.

We perform our audits in accordance with generally accepted government auditing standards, which are promulgated by the U.S. Government Accountability Office. Implementation of these standards ensures that our audit work and products are of the highest quality and uphold the principles of independence, objectivity, competence, and integrity. If you are interested in the nuts and bolts of how we perform our work, I invite you to peruse our Professional Standards Manual. Of course, the most important element in ensuring that our audits are conducted in a quality manner is our staff. Currently, we are an office of 15, which includes ten staff auditors, many of whom have achieved prestigious certifications, such as Certified Public Accountant (CPA), and advanced academic degrees.

The results of our work.

A quick synopsis can be found in our annual performance report. The most visible results are in the implementation of our recommendations. As you'll see in our annual performance report, the most recent follow-up work on our recommendations showed that more than two-thirds had been implemented. As a result, the state has saved money, employed additional safeguards against fraud, waste and abuse, and improved its processes and procedures.

If you have any questions or concerns to bring to my attention, please feel free to call or write me at any time.

Douglas R. Hoffer
Vermont State Auditor