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5 Persistent Headaches Plaguing Government Auditing Teams

May 25, 2023 / #Unstuck Government, #Audit & Investigations

In a world of perpetually limited resources, working in government often provides the perfect environment for frustration. That’s not news. Everyone knows how hard and thankless government work can be.  

We’ve identified 5 five major headaches for government auditors and investigators and a few ways to help heal the pain. 

Headaches
  1. Technology – From data management to reporting, government auditors are drowning under legacy software programs that make the work itself joyless. Auditing is a fascinating role, digging into dark corners and helping ensure nothing is hiding in them, but instead of being able to generate results professionally and seamlessly, government auditors are fighting with outdated tech and falling further behind. Like a fisherman with a leaky boat, if you spend more time bailing water than baiting hooks, the frustration grows.  
  2. Efficiency – Not only are legacy software systems dragging government auditors down, but the processes built around these systems are, at best, labyrinthine. In order to work on a document, an auditor often must download, edit the document version, re-upload, and document the changes. How can you collaborate? How do you manage version control? In a world where second graders use Google Docs, this data and document management nightmare is ridiculous. The process should be “open case, edit document, and save,” but it often isn’t. 
  3. Resources – Government is notoriously confusing when it comes to procurement, and the GSA knows that buying technology has major roadblocks because of the archaic government procurement rules. Not only that, but ever-tighter budgets mean that audit software keeps getting pushed off the cliff when money gets tight.  
  4. Career Progression – Government employees understand the benefits of public sector employment in terms of enjoying a long-term, stable career. But who has time for continuing education, networking, mentoring, or cross-agency best-practice sharing when the tedium of navigating an Excel sheet in lieu of an advanced analytics tool is sucking up all of the hours? In order to advance up the GS scale, auditors need access to private sector tools, training, and mindsets.  
  5. Recruiting – Government hiring managers are watching as their private sector peers gain access to software solutions, AI tools, and top talent because the private sector can keep pace with the demands of the next generation of knowledge workers. Imagine training a new college graduate on pivot tables when they’ve been building websites since they were in the third grade.  

If you’re a government auditor struggling with these issues (among others), and you’re ready to create a legacy for yourself by transforming your agency’s work, OPEXUS is here to help.  

Here are 5 examples of how our eCASE® Audit customers have begun to heal these headaches so they can focus on the quality of the work, and not fight the workflow itself.  

Medicine 
  1. Investing in New Technology – Obviously OPEXUS sells software, so we’re going to say it over and over again: Invest in an audit case management software solution and transform your entire department. Built for government and FedRAMP-certified, eCASE® Audit by OPEXUS is the answer to inefficient audits and scattered spreadsheets – just ask the internal audit team at DOJ. 
  2. Prioritize Efficiency – People don’t like change, it’s true. But inertia is causing more harm than good. Our implementation and support teams are on-hand to ease the transition from your current state to your future state. Before you say, “BUT, you don’t understand our ecosystem!” Pause. Like all great internal audit management software, eCASE automates and eliminates duplicate tasks, frees up time, cuts through procedural and technical hurdles, but unlike our competitors, eCASE has been built specifically for government auditors. No lengthy re-configurations, no need to explain to us “how the government does it differently.” We know, because we built it just for you. We’ve ensured eCASE Audit® and its resulting audits and reports comply with GAO guidelines. That’s because eCASE Audit is specially built on top of Yellow Book and Red Book best practices and standards.
  3. Fast-Track Procurement– At OPEXUS, we worked long and hard to secure a DOJ-sponsored Blanket Purchase Agreement (BPA) award for our eCASE® Audit solution, enabling OIGs to transform their audit and compliance processes even sooner.
    Want to learn more about our BPA? Click here!
     
  4. Find a Cross-Agency Mentor – You’re not the only OIG team struggling with these issues. If you are looking for solutions, why not ask your peers? Through our networking events, lunch-and-learn events, webinars, and conferences, we’ve been bringing together auditors and investigators who have been through the digital transformation from Excel to eCASE®. They are willing to talk about the good, the bad, and the beautiful of the procurement to operations journey. We gather users together as much as we can so our software can be continually improved and optimized to meet government needs – and so you can learn from one another during the process.  
  5. Recruit Ambitious Problem Solvers – Once you’ve started beating the drum of change, it’s time to assemble a team. If given the chance to be the hiring manager or work alongside the hiring manager for your next hire, look for the characteristics of a changemaker. It’s common knowledge that you can train someone to be an auditor, but you can’t train someone to be a creative problem solver. When hiring, focus on the best parts of audit – variety, liaising with leaders and teams at all levels of your agency, long-term opportunities to move across government and areas of impact, and the very real opportunity to be the first wave of the next generation of government leaders. The ladder is nearly empty of younger employees right now, so it’s time to invite the younger generation to start climbing!  

The cliché of the risk-averse, change resistant government employee frustrates us, too. Our clients tend to be the forward-thinking changemakers in government, and we are ready for you to join them. 

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