Episode 35 - Isabel Mercedes Cumming

Episode 39 - Jennifer McGuirk

What happens when your government just... doesn't pick up the phone? In this episode, Leita Hart-Fanta sits down with Jennifer McGuirk, elected county auditor for Multnomah County, Oregon, to talk about two audits that hit close to home for anyone who's ever battled a phone tree or wondered whether their vote is being counted correctly. Jennifer walks us through a creative, citizen-centered customer service audit that had her team posing as ordinary residents, armed with untraceable cell phones and anonymous email accounts, to test whether county departments were actually showing up for the public they serve. The results were eye-opening: 80% responsiveness sounds decent until you remember that government should be answering all the time, not most of the time. Jennifer then turns to an even higher-stakes subject: elections. With Multnomah County preparing to roll out ranked choice voting county-wide after piloting it for the City of Portland, Jennifer's office took a hard look at election integrity, ballot errors rooted in GIS data issues, and the very real human cost of staffing an elections office in an era of vandalism and political hostility. Despite the challenges, the audit delivered something rare and valuable, genuine public assurance that the voting process is sound, while surfacing practical recommendations around voter education and internal GIS expertise that local officials are already moving to act on. CHAPTERS: 00:00 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P69yIcmc9yE]: Introduction: Meet Super Auditor Jennifer 02:33 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P69yIcmc9yE&t=153s]: The Customer Service Audit: Origins and Methodology 05:01 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P69yIcmc9yE&t=301s]: Results: What 171 Phone Calls and 79 Emails Revealed 07:15 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P69yIcmc9yE&t=435s]: Did the Audit Dig Into Why Phones Went Unanswered? 09:17 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P69yIcmc9yE&t=557s]: Recommendations 13:10 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P69yIcmc9yE&t=790s]: Other Citizen-Experience Audits 14:28 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P69yIcmc9yE&t=868s]: The Elections Audit 17:16 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P69yIcmc9yE&t=1036s]: Findings 19:36 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P69yIcmc9yE&t=1176s]: The Human Side: Volunteers, Threats, and the Cost of Public Service 21:42 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P69yIcmc9yE&t=1302s]: Personal Safety as an Elected Auditor 24:15 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P69yIcmc9yE&t=1455s]: Words of Wisdom for New Auditors ABOUT JENNIFER McGUIRK: Jennifer McGuirk, CIA, is serving her second four-year term as Multnomah County Auditor. In this role, Jennifer promotes an accountable and equitable county government. Her office includes four interconnected functions: performance audits; a fraud, waste, and abuse hotline; the county ombudsperson; and community engagement. During her tenure, she has overseen a variety of audits and investigations into county operations, while successfully advocating for County Charter amendments and Code changes to protect the independence of the Auditor’s Office. Jennifer holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Oregon and a master’s in public administration, emphasizing local government administration, from Portland State University.

Episode 38 - Dr. Clive S. Lennox

In a world where rules are written in ink and consequences are written in stone, there is a quiet but powerful force moving behind the curtain of compliance. Not in the audit file. Not in the fieldwork. But in the rules themselves. Meet Clive Lennox. Oxford-educated. Razor-minded. Calm as a ledger that actually balances on the first try. Clive stands at the gates of regulation, where the mighty edicts of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC),  and the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) are forged, and asks a dangerous question: “What if we tried it first?” Armed not with assumptions, but with evidence. Not with urgency, but with method. Clive brings the scientific method into a world that too often runs on precedent and pressure. Hypothesis. Test. Observe. Refine. Because in Clive’s world, regulations shouldn’t just sound good, they should work. Before a single rule reshapes the profession, Clive has already been there quietly proving whether it should. CHAPTERS: 03:30 Sarbanes-Oxley: a case study in rushed rulemaking 05:30 Why no pilot testing means no control group 08:56 Has the PCAOB ever done a real pilot? 10:45 Critical Audit Matters (CAMs): a near-accidental control group 15:20 How Dr. Lennox tries to influence legislators and regulators 17:15 What the CAM research actually found 23:05 Non-audit services: does restricting them improve audit quality? 28:00 Auditor independence in the gray zone 30:20 Horror story: how internal control reporting requirements backfired 33:50 How can listeners help Dr. Lennox's mission? 36:50 Connecting with state-level policy organizations 43:00 US audit quality vs. the world: how do we stack up 45:30 Closing thoughts and wrap-up ABOUT DR. CLIVE S. LENNOX Clive Lennox joined the Leventhal School of Accounting in 2015. His research interests include auditing, voluntary disclosure, corporate fraud, and empirical research methods. He has published more than 35 articles in the top-tier accounting journals (Journal of Accounting and Economics, Journal of Accounting Research, The Accounting Review, Contemporary Accounting Research, and the Review of Accounting Studies). His research and teaching received numerous prizes, including the Notable Contribution to the Auditing Literature Award from the American Accounting Association. Clive is an associate editor at the Journal of Accounting Research and the Journal of Accounting and Economics. He is also a former editor at The Accounting Review and Contemporary Accounting Research.

Episode 37 - Ross Visscher: Part 2

In a previous episode, you heard how Ross Visscher harnesses AI to transform his internal audits in a thriving Canadian city. But power in the hands of one City team is only the beginning! Because beyond the internal audit shop, an entire city is stepping into the world of artificial intelligence. Departments experimenting. Risks emerging. Opportunities everywhere. And someone must bring order to it all. Enter Ross. Not just an auditor, but a guide helping a whole city navigate AI with clarity, control, and caution. Because when everyone has access to powerful tools, governance isn’t optional. It’s everything. Discover how a city’s audit team is leading the way in AI governance and innovation. This episode explores practical strategies for managing AI risks, setting guardrails, and leveraging AI to improve city services, all while ensuring responsible use. CHAPTERS: 00:00 - Introduction to AI in city governance and internal audits 01:19 - Ross’s role as a guide for citywide AI usage and compliance 01:58 - The importance of prompting: quick wins and frameworks 04:36 - Managing AI model costs with tiered approaches 05:29 - Building citywide AI governance and working with leadership 08:10 - Creating inventory and risk classification for AI systems 11:21 - Roles and responsibilities in AI audits across city departments 13:03 - Challenges of chatbot prompt injection and strategies for safeguard 16:01 - Bridging skills: from BASIC to Python, and the power of logic 17:01 - Closing remarks: CPE and community sharing in auditing ABOUT ROSS VISSCHER: Ross Visscher is an internal audit leader with responsibility for IT audit and data analytics programs at The City of Calgary. He has 19 years of internal audit experience, primarily within local government, complemented by earlier experience in financial services and public accounting. For more than a decade, Ross has been actively involved with the Association of Local Government Auditors (ALGA) and served as President for the 2024–2025 term. He holds multiple professional certifications, including Certified Internal Auditor (CIA), Certified Public Accountant (CPA – North Carolina), Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA), and Certified in Risk and Information Systems Control (CRISC). His specialized credentials include ISACA’s Advanced in AI Audit (AAIA), ACL Analytics Certified Data Analyst (ACDA) and Microsoft Power BI Data Analyst Associate.

Episode 36 - Ross Visscher

In this episode, we sit down with Ross Visscher, an IT audit champion using AI to transform how a city government approaches auditing. Ross shares how his team is leveraging tools like Microsoft Copilot, Azure OpenAI, and Python to automate tasks, analyze customer feedback, process documents with OCR, and validate transactions faster and more accurately than ever before. We dig into how he developed an AI governance framework aligned with professional standards, and the best practices his team follows to keep sensitive data private and secure in the cloud. Ross also gets practical about the emerging skills auditors need today — including vibe coding and basic Python — and why aligning every AI tool with organizational values and enterprise approval processes isn't just good governance, it's essential to doing the work right. CHAPTERS: 00:00 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dL9ouf2lxEA] - Introduction to the Super Auditor 00:51 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dL9ouf2lxEA&t=51s] - IT audit champion role using AI for city transformation 01:47 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dL9ouf2lxEA&t=107s] - Using AI internally to improve audit quality 03:07 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dL9ouf2lxEA&t=187s] - Establishing AI governance aligned with Redbook standards 04:47 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dL9ouf2lxEA&t=287s] - Copilot in audit work 08:25 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dL9ouf2lxEA&t=505s] - Building a responsible AI framework using Azure 12:01 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dL9ouf2lxEA&t=721s] - Python as an intermediary for large datasets and vibe coding 15:08 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dL9ouf2lxEA&t=908s] - Handling confidential data 20:15 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dL9ouf2lxEA&t=1215s] - Combining traditional audit tools with AI, Python, and Power BI 22:36 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dL9ouf2lxEA&t=1356s] - Handling non-cloud options 26:30 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dL9ouf2lxEA&t=1590s] - Building Python skills and understanding for auditors 29:45 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dL9ouf2lxEA&t=1785s] - Embracing change while staying aligned with core audit values 30:21 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dL9ouf2lxEA&t=1821s] - Closing remarks ABOUT ROSS VISSCHER: Ross Visscher is an internal audit leader with responsibility for IT audit and data analytics programs at The City of Calgary. He has 19 years of internal audit experience, primarily within local government, complemented by earlier experience in financial services and public accounting. For more than a decade, Ross has been actively involved with the Association of Local Government Auditors (ALGA) and served as President for the 2024–2025 term. He holds multiple professional certifications, including Certified Internal Auditor (CIA), Certified Public Accountant (CPA – North Carolina), Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA), and Certified in Risk and Information Systems Control (CRISC). His specialized credentials include ISACA’s Advanced in AI Audit (AAIA), ACL Analytics Certified Data Analyst (ACDA) and Microsoft Power BI Data Analyst Associate.

Episode 35 - Isabel Mercedes Cumming

In this episode, we delve into the world of government oversight, audit strategies, and investigative work with expert auditor and inspector general, Isabel Mercedes Cumming. Discover how rigorous evidence-gathering, quick action, and citizen involvement lead to transformative, live-saving changes in public agencies while maintaining independence and integrity. CHAPTERS: 00:00 - Welcome to Auditors Save the World! 01:45 - Case example: catching a $600,000 fraud in 45 seconds 06:19 - Investigative speed 08:33 - Verifying situations through evidence and real-time inspections 09:54 - The power of emergency reports in driving major changes 13:33 - The necessity of independent oversight versus city audits 17:23 - The significance of ongoing verification, even after initial fixes 21:21 - The coverage of inspector general functions across U.S. cities 23:29 - The career pathway from auditing to fraud examination and law 24:29 - Final thoughts: Passion for justice, and the value of audit skills ABOUT ISABEL MERCEDES CUMMING Isabel Mercedes Cumming serves the Inspector General of Baltimore City, making history in January 2018 as the first woman and Hispanic to ever be named to the post. She also distinguishes herself as the first Inspector General to serve a second term. The Office of the Inspector General (OIG) has flourished under her leadership having quadrupled the number of hotline complaints, achieving independence for the office, and successfully growing the office from six to 19 employees. The OIG tackled numerous high-profile cases and achieved over $50 million of documented savings for the citizens of Baltimore in the first year. Ms. Cumming began her legal career at the United States Attorney’s Office as a law clerk where she specialized in investigating white-collar crimes. Prior she was the Director of Internal Audit for American National Bank in Baltimore for over seven years. She began her career with KPMG Peat Marwick in Baltimore as an auditor in 1984. Ms. Cumming was named the Certified Fraud Fighter of the Year in 2006 and the first Top Fraud Fighter in Maryland in 2004 by the ACFE. She was named a Top 100 Women in Maryland three times by the Daily Record and recently a Leader in Law. She traveled to Amman, Jordan where she taught White Collar Prosecution to fifty judges and lawyers for the Rule of Law program. She holds both Certified Inspector General and Certified Fraud Examiner credentials. In 2019, she was elected to the Board of Directors of the Association of Inspector Generals. She previously taught Principles of Fraud Examination at the University of Baltimore and continues to serve on the Dean’s Advisory Committee for the Law School. She earned an undergraduate degree in accounting from James Madison University, a master’s degree in business administration and a Juris Doctorate (law) degree with honors from the University of Baltimore.