Office of the State Auditor Wins Award at National Conference

RALEIGH, NC – Today, State Auditor Leslie Merritt announced that the Office of the State Auditor received an award from the National State Auditors Association (NSAA) for the best 2008 Performance Audit (under 2000 audit hours). The audit entitled “Internal Auditing in North Carolina Agencies and Institutions” won this award during the 2008 NSAA Annual Conference held June 4-6 in Baltimore, Maryland. Auditor Merritt was present to receive the award.

“The Auditor’s Office is pleased to receive recognition for the quality work done by our Performance Audit Division staff,” said Merritt. “But the real reward comes from influencing policy to bring more accountability to State government through the 2007 Internal Auditing Act.”  

The NSAA judged all submitted audits on set criteria that included the audit’s potential for significant impact in State government and the action it produced. The State Auditor’s winning audit met these criteria by contributing to the formation of the North Carolina Internal Audit Act (session law 2007-424) which requires State agencies to audit internal controls and perform internal audits to identify inefficient or ineffective programs and activities. In addition, the audit generated positive editorials in the Raleigh News & Observer (10/18/06) and the Charlotte Observer (10/20/06) as well as news stories in the Associated Press.

“Internal auditing in State agencies is essential to increasing efficiency and eliminating waste in State government because internal auditors are at ground zero of fraud, waste and abuse. They are positioned to catch a minor occurrence before it mushrooms into a major problem for North Carolina taxpayers,” concluded Merritt.

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