Opinion
A4
Thursday, January 6, 2022
OUR VIEW
The required
audits Oregon
does not do
O
regon’s latest “Annual report of statewide
internal audit activities” might be a per-
fect sleep aid. But that annual report is a
really good idea.
That is, it’s a really good idea if it’s done right.
Big state agencies in Oregon are basically
required by law to take a hard, objective look at
themselves every year and fi gure out what they
might need to do better. It could lead to improve-
ment in government. And the audits improve
transparency. They give Oregonians a window
into how government agencies are doing.
This year, the executive summary of the report
is packed with good news. Agencies completed
56 audits. Three agencies got top marks from
“external quality reviews.” Fully 21 of the state
internal auditors hold advanced degrees. And the
highlight reel goes on with more.
Read just that executive summary and it seems
like it’s going great. Dig deeper, though, and
the state actually met only one of its goals for
internal audits. Some agencies didn’t even do
them. There are, of course, excuses for not doing
them. There always are.
One goal is that 100% of state agencies comply
with ORS 184.360. That’s the state law that
requires internal audits. The state didn’t hit it.
Only 79% of the required agencies produced
a risk assessment of the agency that conforms to
national standards.
Only 72% completed at least one audit per year
based on its annual report.
Only 69% completed a governance or risk
management audit in the last fi ve years.
The state also aims for a goal that 75% of state
agencies complete an annual audit plan each year.
Only 55% of agencies did.
The state’s fi nal two goals for internal audits
have to do with using audits to improve govern-
ment. One is that agencies do surveys after an
audit to fi gure out ways to improve how they do
audits. Only 83% did.
We had to chuckle when we saw the one goal
that the state achieved. It’s related to that last goal
of conducting surveys after an audit. The state
hopes that at least 90% of survey responses affi r-
matively state that the audit provided value to the
organization. Fully 100% percent believed the
audit work had value — now if only more agen-
cies would actually do the audits as required.
If this report is to be truly useful, shouldn’t the
executive summary highlight that actually, year
after year, many state agencies don’t get these
audits done? Shouldn’t there be a brief summary
about what each internal audit did fi nd?
EDITORIALS
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We all deserve opportunities
to build productive lives
EVELYN
SWART
OTHER VIEWS
I
was a Depression baby, born
toward the end of the Great
Depression. The young couple
who bore me and my siblings had
very few resources, but they took
advantage of the possibilities off ered
through the government programs
that edged the country out of those
troubling times. A new irrigation
reclamation project allowed young
farmers like my dad to change sage-
brush desert into productive farm-
land. As time went on and my par-
ents’ family grew, a government
housing administration loaned
money to improve our dwelling
and the land. Of course, we even-
tually paid off the fi nancial obli-
gations incurred during the pro-
cess. I say “we” because the entire
family worked to make the venture
a success.
There was opposition during the
Great Depression to the social and
economic programs that eventually
brought us out of it. But the Roos-
evelt administration prevailed, and
the nation not only survived but
prospered in the long run. Although
my parents took advantage of the
Roosevelt administration’s pro-
grams, they never voted for FDR.
Their voting preference had nothing
to do with the help they received to
come out of the Depression. They
consistently voted for the Republican
presidential candidate because of
their religious-based conviction that
the use of alcohol was wrong. They
blamed the Democrats for the revo-
cation of the 18th Amendment to the
U.S. Constitution. Rule by majority
vote has worked out over the long
run.
I must say that I never heard my
parents complain about taxes. They
were always grateful for the advan-
tages provided by the United States
government. All their children
became productive and valuable cit-
izens of their communities. We eight
siblings attended the public school,
and we all had the opportunity to
attend one of the state colleges or
universities.
Looking back and remem-
bering the hard work on the farm,
jobs while attending school and
during summers, I am grateful for
the opportunities that my state and
national governments provided
me. Even now, with the advantages
of Social Security and health care
insurance, I benefi t by living in this
country. I do not discount the advan-
tages of passable roads and high-
ways, police and fi re departments
and the many other government pro-
grams that I seldom think about.
Yes, the United States came out
of the Great Depression because
the government created programs
to assist people getting their basic
needs met. Since then, the country
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prospered, and some people have
become extremely wealthy and often
passed their wealth from generation
to generation.
Others have fared less well. For
many reasons, the middle class has
virtually disappeared and there
are families struggling to provide
necessities for their survival. We
have millions of people in great
need. For many, raising a family is
fraught with hardships and barriers.
Struggling families need assistance
just as the people at the end of the
Great Depression received help to
rebuild their communities and the
country.
I remember the hard work my
family endured, but I realize that
even then we had help that is not
easily available to everyone now.
My desire is that in this century
people who are disadvantaged
have opportunities, as in the last
century, to build productive lives
and contribute positively to their
communities.
We need strong families and
strong Americans. We need the pro-
grams that will be available when
the bills in front of the U.S. Senate
pass and become law. When our
fellow citizens receive their share of
the good life, my share is not dimin-
ished. It is even better.
———
Evelyn Swart is a retired edu-
cator who was born in 1936. Her
retirement is devoted to writing and
community volunteering in Joseph.
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