Redefining Government Performance: The Essential Alliance of Auditors & Program Managers

• Published in: The journal of government financial management 2024-04, Vol.73 (1), p.54-55
• Main Author: Shea, Robert
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Collaboration; Compliance; Data analysis; Decision making
• ISSN: 1533-1385

In an insightful article on fund blending and braiding, authors Jonathan Womer and Kathy Stack argue that meaningful advancements in government programs hinge on the ability to harness data for informed decision-making.1 A more symbiotic relationship between auditors and program managers, grounded in a data-driven culture to reach unprecedented levels of program efficacy, is necessary to enter a new era of improved government performance and public trust. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB), in its draft revisions to Guidance for Grants and Agreements - the Uniform Guidance, fans the flames of change by affirming that expenses related to data and evaluation, as well as the systems that enable them, are legitimate uses of grant funding. Not only are "costs related to data and evaluation" allowable, but, as the draft guidance states, they "may also include direct or indirect costs associated with building integrated data systems - data systems that link individual-level data from multiple state and local government agencies for purposes of management, research and evaluation.