Sneak Preview: Various Challenges Are Impacting The Work of Government Auditors

(The following was excerpted from a recent Thompson Grants Compliance Expert article.)
Changes stemming from the current presidential administration, the creation of new grant programs for special purposes and the demand for rapid audit results are creating an increasingly challenging environment for governmental auditors when conducting their work, according to a panel discussion during the recent 2025 National Intergovernmental Audit Forum.

Tammy Hull, inspector general (IG) for the U.S. Postal Service and acting chairperson of the Council of Inspectors General, told attendees that the “audit landscape is evolving” across all levels of government. She particularly pointed out that auditors have been dealing with unique complexities when reviewing requirements related to recent programs for special purposes (e.g., COVID-19 pandemic relief and Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (Pub. L. 117-58) programs).

Hull also explained that new presidential administrations bring new policies and practices. “We’re navigating these changes among the leadership in the IG community, and some of those leaders have been stretched in ways they never anticipated,” she added. “Public expectations for transparency and accountability are higher than ever. Our work is as critical as it has ever been across the IG community and audit landscape. Communicating the results of our work and the value of it is so important, and we’re competing with so many other voices to get our messages out, so we have to be better than we’ve ever been in the external communications area.”

Audit offices have to “really focus on risk-based approaches, and leadership has to foster a culture that doesn’t just tolerate change but embraces change,” Hull continued. She emphasized the need to focus on improving the audit workforce and “collaborate across organizational boundaries” to better respond to such changes. “Recruiting and retaining talent with diverse and modern skill sets is essential to better handle complicated areas, embrace data analytics, and look at critical cybersecurity areas and emerging risks,” she added.

Hull specifically stressed the data analytics facet. “It’s good to determine what talent we have in technology that can help us audit better and more effectively, as well as determine what is going wrong so that we can identify controls needed for oversight,” she said.

One of the key overarching challenges facing governmental auditors is the proper balance between audit quality and timeliness. “High-quality audits require time, but stakeholders often need rapid insights,” she said. “That’s the classic tension we struggle with as auditors. Delays can reduce the audit relevance and impact of our findings. Finding ways to navigate compliance with the Government Auditing Standards (GAGAS) with the need for providing timely insights to agency leadership is one of our ongoing challenges.”

(The full version of this story has now been made available to all for a limited time here.)
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