Pete M. Gonzales Jr. : Farewell message from former city auditor
Source: San Antonio Express (Original Article)
Comment: Farewell message from former city auditor
Web Posted: 05/06/2008 07:06 PM CDT
By Pete M. Gonzales Jr.
Special to the Express-News
I swore before the mayor, council members, citizens of San Antonio and Almighty God on May 2, 2007, to uphold the office of the city auditor. This solemn oath required me to maintain high ethical standards, work independently and be free of both political pressure and management intervention. The oath I took was very similar to the paths I took when I joined the Marine Corps in 1965 to defend this country and again when sworn in as audit manager with the office of the inspector general for the U.S. Postal Service. I proudly served my country, and I applied the same principles and ideologies serving as city auditor during the past year. When I took office, the position of city auditor was in shambles: There was a 45 percent turnover rate. Auditors were using old equipment. There were no audits with financial/revenue recoveries. Auditors were conducting only performance audits. There was no leadership. There was no vision. By Sept. 30, 2007, under my leadership, we: Achieved 100 percent staffing in the office of city auditor. Acquired an audit staff with 55 percent holding master’s degrees and 65 percent holding CPA and other professional licenses. Established an infrastructure and chain of command. Established a positive work environment. Supplied the staff with new equipment. Recovered approximately $400,000 mainly due to overcharges. Promoted the professionalism of the office of city auditor. Promoted the auditing profession and the city of San Antonio by engaging the audit staff in numerous city and university functions. Convinced the 2010 National Association of Local Government Auditors Conference to meet in San Antonio. Planned to have this office become the number one internal audit office in the nation, not only adding value to the city, but also giving the citizens of San best card credit rate Antonio an audit team of which …continue reading