My office is conducting credible, high-impact audits

Your March 17 article on the Office of the State Auditor indicated that I have slowed the pace of investigative reports since taking office in January 2009. For the record, at the time of your article I had been in office 14 months, not 15, as you state. Had you chosen to write your article after 12 months, you would have found that we had issued nine investigative reports, compared to 11 reports during the same timeframe for my predecessor. If you check again after 16 months or 20 months, etc., I am sure the differences will go up and down to varying degrees.

Your article fails to mention, though you were told, that my predecessor temporarily assigned seven additional staff to the investigative division early in his term to clear a backlog of cases that had built up. I think this was a wise decision on his part since the backlog had gotten unusually large due to several very complex investigations that had been done prior to his taking office that consumed a great deal of staff time. Consequently, production of investigative reports was stepped up temporarily to clear the backlog, which then produced the bump of reports that you include in your article.

All of this fails to recognize that the number of reports issued, by itself, is a poor measure of our productivity.

I could choose to perform a huge number of very small audits/investigations if I wanted. However, this may not result in delivering the most effective audit and investigative services for citizens of North Carolina.

Your article lists several audits we conducted during my first year that can have a significant impact on the state's finances. Should I have not conducted those high-impact audits in favor of a large number of smaller engagements just to increase the number of reports issued?

During my brief time in office, you have published articles unfairly critical of me personally and in my capacity as State Auditor. Could this have anything to do with the fact that your publisher serves as an adviser to the not-for-profit organization headed by the former state auditor whom I defeated in 2008?

In the audit profession, we have strict rules about independence and objectivity. I have made it a point of emphasis that all of our reports must be truthful and credible. You might consider whether you need to more fully apply these principles in your own profession.

Beth A. Wood, CPA

State Auditor of North Carolina

Raleigh

The length limit was waived to permit a fuller response.