The Office of the Auditor General again receives the most favorable opinion on audit quality and quality control measures
STATE HOUSE – The Office of the Auditor General (the OAG) has again received a favorable rating for audit quality and quality control measures designed to ensure compliance with generally accepted auditing standards resulting from a recent peer review of its operations.
A pass rating is the most favorable report that an audit organization may receive from the peer review process. The National State Auditors Association assembled a team of experienced governmental auditors from other state audit organizations throughout the United States and the federal government to conduct the peer review. The team performed its on-site review from July 31 to Aug. 4.
Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi, chairman of the Joint Committee on Legislative Services, released the results of the peer review of the government audit agency headed by Auditor General David A. Bergantino, CPA, CFE. The OAG is the legislative audit organization and serves as the state’s independent auditor.
Peer review provides assurance that auditors are adhering to applicable auditing standards in the conduct of their audits. The review focused on the OAG’s policies and procedures to ensure audit quality and overall compliance with those standards on audits issued between July 1, 2022, and June 30, 2023. The peer review team concluded that the system of quality control of the OAG had been suitably designed and was complied with to provide reasonable assurance of conforming with Government Auditing Standards. Those standards, issued by the Comptroller General of the United States, address auditor independence, reporting of audit results, documentation requirements, audit planning, qualifications, and supervision of staff, as well as specific requirements relating to the conduct of audits.
A peer review is required once every three years for audit organizations performing audits in accordance with Government Auditing Standards. The OAG’s quality control measures and audit quality has consistently obtained favorable reviews since its inception in 1974.
A copy of the peer review report issued by the National State Auditors Association is available on the OAG’s website at nsaa23.pdf (ri.gov).
