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Auditor-General-News@PaAuditor.gov
- What does the auditor general do? As Pennsylvania’s chief fiscal watchdog, the Auditor General directs a team that performs audits to make sure state tax dollars are properly spent and not wasted or misused through fraud.
- What is an audit? An audit is an independent, objective examination to confirm the accuracy of something that has been reported. An audit can also identify ways to improve how something operates.
- What do you audit? We audit a wide range of state-funded programs and services as well as examine how state funds are spent. Many of our audits are required by law. You can review our past audits in our Audit Report Center.
- What type of audits do you do? Our financial audits examine records and supporting documents to make sure the reported information is true and reliable. Our performance audits look for ways to make programs and services run more effectively and efficiently. We also perform other types of audits, but financial and performance audits are the bulk of our work.
- What is an audit finding? A finding explains what the auditor learned through the examination. A finding has five parts: 1) Condition: What is the issue or problem the auditor found? 2) Cause: Why did the issue or problem happen? 3) Criteria: What is our reason for flagging the issue or problem? 4) Effect: What’s the impact and why is it important? 5) Recommendation: How can the issue or problem be solved?
- What does a management response in an audit mean? A management response allows the auditee to explain why issues or problems happened and say whether they agree with our findings.
- What is the auditor’s conclusion in an audit? The auditor’s conclusion explains the “bottom line,” providing a summary that takes into account the audit’s objectives, findings, and the auditee’s management response.
- What is a noncompliance finding? This means that the auditee did not follow a relevant law, regulation, or standard.
- What is a partial compliance finding? This means that the auditee only partly followed a relevant law, regulation, or standard.
- What does a repeated finding in an audit mean? It means that a problem or issue flagged by a past audit still existed when we looked again.
- How do I get a copy of an audit? Find past audits in our online Audit Report Center. Use the search fields to narrow down the results.
- How can I suggest that an audit be conducted, or otherwise report fraud, waste, abuse, or improper use of state tax dollars? Write to us through our Contact Us page.
- Who do I contact to invite the Auditor General to speak at an event? You can invite the Auditor General using our online speaking request form.