Written by Brandon Haynes, City of Atlanta, 

Last August I posed a question to the list serve asking young auditors (mid 30’s or younger) and those new to the profession about their feelings coming into the profession. Although the question I asked generated many concerns about the validity of the question, the question itself did not spawn many responses. Most people who sent responses directly to me thought the concept was interesting and asked me to share what I found. So after six months and a different audit shop later, here is my essay. I hope it can foster thought about the future of our profession.

Introduction

Whether it is because of age, years of experience or other factors, retirement has started to siphon experienced auditors from our profession. Through their eventual departure, vacancies will open and be filled by a new generation of employees. As a profession, are we prepared for this? How can we make the transition easier? The next few paragraphs will describe the new generation entering the workforce, the “Nexters,” as well as discuss how a few Nexters feel about performance auditing. Although this may speak more about the younger generation entering performance auditing, I hope the central premise of my message can be embraced by the profession as a whole, since the cultural shock of entering the profession of performance auditing for the first time can be jolting at any age. Knowing and understanding this new workforce may prove beneficial in recruiting and retaining good employees in the profession.

RISE OF THE NEXTERS

Being the children of the Baby Boomers, and younger siblings to Generation Xers, some circles refer to us as the Baby Boom Echo, Millennials or being a part of the Baby Boomlet. You may have started to see some now if you have employees who are around 30 and younger. The Nexters have grown up participating in so many different types of extra-curricular activities (athletics, drama, clubs, jobs) that time management and multitasking have become second nature. They came out of the womb pointing and clicking a mouse and playing video games, so technology is not a luxury to them, but a necessity. Living through the end of the boom of the 80’s and early 90’s into the down-sizing of the 90’s and the world of unrest in the 00’s, Nexters are expected to work well with “Seniors” (born 1922-1945), who made it through the Depression era. Nexters have a hopeful optimism that they can foster change and make life better. They are considered a “self confident group, and sometimes even cocky,” but they do “need structure and direction in the work place.” Nexters are expected to be fiercely loyal to managers that have helped train and develop their abilities, much like their coaches did. Though they believe in hard work, work will not be the only priority as Nexters want to strike a balance between work and family life.

Nexters’ Thoughts on Performance Auditing

The Nexters who responded to my email displayed some characteristics, which I described in this article. Nexters enjoy performance auditing because of its versatility. One person said they enjoyed the variety in skills needed for different projects; that it kept things from getting boring. Performance auditing actually lets us use the array of skills we have spent years and money developing in college, such as critical reading and thinking, researching, and using numerous computer software packages. Some are pleased that performance auditing has propelled them closer to those who create and implement policy. The profession also lends itself to our idealistic nature that we can help change the world.

However, some Nexters mentioned that lack of training and development is a problem within the profession. They are not speaking of the 80 hours of biannual training to meet Yellow book standards, but the initial training can be crucial to develop and retain new auditors. Fellow Nexters feel there is no training on how to be an auditor. There is a sink or swim mentality within the profession that does not necessarily work well with all Nexters. One person said they were “given the keys to an office and told to ‘have at it’.”

When I first started, I was oriented to the office and the city, and was told to read the Yellow Book sections on performance auditing, but there was little connecting that to what we actually did day to day. I reviewed workpapers and past audits, but I still did not grasp auditing. There was nothing to tell me what a good workpaper looked like, or how to write effective planning summaries. Fortunately, my first supervisor scheduled weekly meetings with me to provide feedback on my work, including workpapers, interviews and other writings, and helped me with some of the terminology we use. At the time I did not fully understand everything he told me, but as I became more experienced, I started understanding the concepts and how they related to the work we do. I understood the processes and how their sequence fit within the context of the audit and standards. This type of feedback may not be the norm in every audit shop, but maybe it should be. Although every shop varies in its approach, one person suggested creating a guide that would direct new auditors through the entire audit process from an engagement letter to the final report. In the short term, that would provide direction for people new to the profession. Even though some catch on faster than others, there’s no need for potentially good auditors to get frustrated and leave the profession because of an initial lack of direction.

Another concern from Nexters was the pace of auditing. Some believe the process to be a bit slow. Nexters understand that auditing by nature is a slow and methodical process, and that slow responses from auditees can account for some of the lethargy. With that said, it is doubly important that we stay on task and not add length to an already lengthy process. One Nexter believes that how knowledgeable and confident an auditor is will determine how fast the audit is performed. While I believe this is true, it has been my experience that we increase the time of an audit, which at times slows the pace, by adding work steps after the planning and, sometimes, fieldwork reviews. As auditors we want to know every possible detail possible, even when in some instances its unnecessary information. We must find a balance between precision and timeliness. Quicker, more focused audits can still be as accurate as longer, broader audits. As one auditor said, “Taking 9-12 months to do an audit is a luxury that we probably can’t afford.”

Thoughts about Nexters

Although we have the necessary skills to be successful in the profession, Nexters can be overconfident and fail to listen to voices of experience trying to guide us over the pitfalls of youth and inexperience. The experienced auditors that responded said they enjoy Nexters’ “fresh perspectives”, “quicker pace” and “comfort with technology.” They like how we were not “burnt out or cynical” just yet. However, some didn’t like this generation’s sometime “what’s in it for me” or “know it all” attitude. Nexters have grown up in an information age where everything we’ve wanted to know has been at the tip of our finger. Nevertheless, we still have to understand that, although we sometimes think we know all that we need to know, we still should look to our predecessors as guides teaching us how to use the knowledge we possess.

Looking to the Future

So, that was just a brief snapshot of the concerns of the generation that will be entering the workforce in the coming years. As we move farther away from Generation X, these traits will most likely be accentuated in your new hires. Do not take this as the end all be all of my generation, as they will come in all shapes and sizes. I wrote this to say that the world is a changing place and performance auditing has to change with it. A little more direction may be needed by the experienced auditors to help not only the Nexters, but to anyone new to the profession. And as Nexters, we will need to show a little more patience and professionalism as our chosen craft grows not necessarily at the rate we want it to, but at its own pace.

Combining the lessons of the past with new technology and a healthy optimism for the future will keep our profession moving in the right direction.

Sources:
The New Workforce by Harriet Hankin

Mixing and Managing Four Generations of Employees by Greg Hammill
www.fdu.edu /newspubs/magazine/05ws/generations.htm

Managing a Multi-Generational Workforce

(Training material provided to supervisors in the City of Kansas City)