Introduction, Name and Area
There is a need for an organizational means for achieving better coordination of and
expanding the usefulness of federal, state, and local audits. Therefore, there is hereby
created the Western Intergovernmental Audit Forum which shall include audit organizations
and organizations related to audit in the area embraced by Federal Region IX, the states
of Arizona, California, Hawaii, Nevada, Guam, Samoa and the Pacific Basin.
Purpose
The Forum will meet to consider audit problems advanced by any governmental unit
provided, that the problems involved are amenable to resolution on a mutual basis by such
a group. The Forum will serve as a means of bringing together persons who can work toward
solutions through discussion of the problems. It is expected that the activities of the
Forum will be of benefit to federal agencies, state, local governments and others as
appropriate. The Forum will have no decisionmaking authority to bind the federal agencies,
states, and territories or local governments represented; however, all members will
actively support a policy of cooperation and coordination.
Functions
The Forum shall be constituted as a body within which the participating agencies
will, collectively or through committees:
1. Develop mechanisms and administrative procedures to facilitate day-today
interagency and intergovernmental cooperation between members and exchange of information
on matters relating to audits.
2. Identify and select specific projects or problems, for joint development and
resolution, that are characterized by a high degree of interagency and intergovernmental
involvement, the advancement of which will contribute significantly to the efficiency and
usefulness of audits at all levels of government.
3. Develop short-term regional strategies and mechanisms for the accomplishment of
the specific projects.
4. Review and evaluate periodically the progress made in the development of
projects.
5. Facilitate the discussion and resolution of interagency conflicts relating to
audits.
6. Develop long-term regional interagency and intergovernmental strategies for
resource allocations to fill voids and minimize overlaps and duplications in audit
coverage.
7. Invite other groups, such as professional societies, to contribute on topics of
interest to the Forum.
8. Promote the use and acceptance, uniform interpretation and implementation of all
professionally accepted audit standards.
Relationship with National
Intergovernmental Audit Forum
A National Intergovernmental Audit Forum has been created for the purpose of
bringing together federal, state and local auditors at the directorate level to discuss
and resolve intergovernmental audit problems. Western Intergovernmental Audit Forum has no
direct relationship with the National Forum; however, it can and should, with reference to
the National Forum:
1. Provide a summary of its accomplishments, current work and plans.
2. Recommend courses of action as a result of its activity.
3. Refer problems that it believes should be resolved on a national scale.
Regional Audit Forum members shall continue to be responsive to their respective
organizational directors and do not by membership on the Regional Forum relinquish this
responsibility. The Regional Audit Forum as a group, however, will receive and react to
recommendations of the National Audit Forum.
Membership
The principal audit officials engaged in the audits of governmental organizations,
programs, activities and functions, regardless of level or branch of government, shall be
qualified for membership. Each member will designate an alternate who shall serve whenever
the regular member is unable to attend a meeting of the Forum. The alternate shall be
fully empowered to act on behalf of and instead of his principal in all Forum affairs.
Member organizations are those represented by the heads of the organizations whose
signatures appear on the Covenant below. Additional members shall be admitted by majority
vote of existing members.
Officers
A Chair and a Vice-Chair shall be the officers of the Forum. These officers shall
be selected to serve a one-year term. The Chair shall be the principal executive officer
of the Forum and shall preside over all meetings. In the absence of the Chair, the
Vice-Chair shall perform the duties of the Chair.
Each of these positions will normally rotate among the federal, state and local membership
groups so that a member from each group holds each position once every 3 years.
The Executive Director shall be a non-voting ex-officio member of the Forum and of all its
committees and shall perform management and administrative duties in support of Forum
activities.
Committees
The Forum will carry out its various functions through a series of standing
committees supplemented by ad hoc committees organized for special purposes as
appropriate. The Forum's standing committees are:
Executive Committee
Training and Professional Relations
Committee on Performance Audit
Committee on Emerging Issues
Executive Committee shall consist of six members: the Forum Chair, who will also chair the
Executive Committee; the Forum Vice Chair; one member selected by the federal government
representatives; one selected by the state government representatives; one member selected
by the local government representatives; and the Immediate Past Chair.
The Executive Committee shall be responsible for developing meeting agendas. The Committee
shall appoint the Chair and members of the other standing committees, establish such ad
hoc committees as deemed necessary, and perform such other duties as may be assigned.
Objectives of the Committees
The objectives of standing committees shall be as follows:
Executive Committee
--Assist the Chair in guiding and conducting Forum activities including arrangements
for meetings, preparation of agendas,dissemination of information, and formulation of
operating procedures.
--Assist in identifying other groups who may contribute significantly to the
advancement of Forum purposes and develop mechanisms to afford appropriate participation
of such groups.
--Coordinate efforts to promote adherence to professionally accepted audit standards.
--Notify appropriate officials at all levels of government, the Federal Regional Council,
State CPA societies, and other professional groups, of the formation and purposes of the
Forum and maintain liaison with such groups.
It is expected that the Chairs of the other standing committees will develop subobjectives
and goals designed to meet the overall objectives of the Forum.
Meetings
Regular Forum meetings shall be held three or four times a year at such time and
place designated by the Chair. Extraordinary meetings of the Forum may be called at the
direction of the Chair to consider important matters affecting a significant segment of
members--where time is of the essence and satisfactory action cannot be attained
otherwise. The Chair will be responsible for providing appropriate notification to the
membership for any meeting.
Forum committee meetings may be called as necessary by either the Chair of the committee
involved or by the Chair of the Forum.
Voting
All members or designated alternates shall have the right to vote on Forum matters
when in attendance at duly called meetings. Matters voted on by the membership shall be
approved by a plurality (i.e., most votes) of those voting; except that in each instance
when all federal government members or all state government members or all local
government members vote against any matter, that matter shall not be approved. Two-thirds
of each member group present (federal, state, and local) shall constitute a quorum for the
transaction of official business. For purposes of amending this charter, a majority vote
of all members is required.
Covenant
We the undersigned, on behalf of our respective organizations, hereby agree to
support the functions of the Forum and to participate in its activities as herein stated;
provided that nothing in this Charter shall be construed as subjecting any department,
establishment, or other instrumentality of the federal, state or local governments or the
heads thereof, or any functions vested by law in or assigned pursuant to law to any such
agency or head, to the authority of any other such agency, head or Forum member or as
abrogating, modifying or restricting any such function in any manner.