Critical Thinking for the Federal Auditor
https://www.dau.edu
class my senior semester and nothing prepared myself for federal contract auditing.” Other comments included “additional concentration needs to be made on Government Procurement and Contracting” … “understanding various contract types, Federal regulations .... contract knowledge. The documents and agreements for which the costs were incurred are largely unknown to auditors” and “understanding the acquisition and procurement process.” Finally, one auditor noted “….Specifcally FAR, I did not even know this existed when I started.” Profession’s Acknowledgment of the Importance of Critical Thinking As the federal auditor continues to strive for success in an overly constrained space, both governmental and nongovernmental constituents are acknowledging the value of improving auditor critical thinking skills. Governmental Acknowledgment In anAugust 2017 report toCongress, theDoDcalled for a newemphasis in acquisition workforce critical thinking that would require “a cultural change and the re-education of its workforce” (Section 809 Panel, 2018b, p. 62). In its 2016–2020 Strategic Plan, DCAA identifed the development and application of critical thinking to best formulate defensible audit positions (DCAA, n.d., Strategic Plan ). The GAO Yellow Book describes the need to evaluate “programor policy alternatives” in forming conclusions for performance audits (GAO, 2018c, para. 1.26., p. 14). The training institute of the federal Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efciency identifies critical thinking skills as a core competency (Council of the Inspectors General, n.d.).
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Defense ARJ, January 2020, Vol. 27No. 1 : 2-26
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