The purpose of performance audits conducted by the Office of the Legislative Auditor General is to help legislators oversee and evaluate state agency operations and state program results. The Office of the Legislative Auditor General wants to be responsive to the needs and concerns of legislators, as well as Utah taxpayers. It conducts audits by the request of members of the Legislature, allegations raised by the public, or concerns raised from previous audits. Once an audit request has been reviewed and approved by the Audit Subcommittee, auditors are assigned to a project. Naturally, a first consideration in assigning auditors is who is available, but much attention is paid to auditors' skills and strengths too.
Introductions are made, office space is set up, and general audit procedures are explained.
The next step is conducting a preliminary survey. Quick tests are set up to see how valid the complaints are. If the audit is not the result of allegations, the team sets up tests based on what it has discussed and decided might be areas worth investigating. These tests give a quick review and check of management control. The results of the investigations are called audit findings, and five elements compose any finding.