New state auditor revises policies

State Auditor Tom Schweich, who defeated former Auditor Susan Montee in the November general election, has instituted a new policy meant to make audit information more accessible to Missourians.

Starting in February, the traditional yellow sheet cover page summary of newly released audits will be replaced with what is being dubbed as a Citizens Summary. The change is the first major modification to the audit summary page since it was created in 1999, according to a news release.

"The addition of the Citizens Summary to all audits will provide Missourians another resource to review how efficiently their government is operating," Schweich said in the release. "While my office will continue to provide detailed accounting of how tax dollars are being spent, the new Citizens Summary will ensure taxpayers can easily access audit conclusions which are important to them."

The Citizens Summary will include a performance-based rating system, the first time the state auditor's office has offered such a system, according to the release.

The rating scale:

• Excellent - The audit finds a well managed entity with no findings. The entity also has implemented prior recommendations made in previous audits.
• Good - The entity is well managed. The report contains few findings, and the entity has implemented most of or all of the recommendations made in previous audits.
• Fair - The audit finds the entity needs to improve operations in several areas. The report contains several findings and many prior recommendations have not been implemented.
• Poor - The entity needs to significantly improve operations. Numerous findings are reported that require immediate attention. Most prior recommendations have not been implemented.

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