PA+Auditor+General

=The Auditor General of Pennsylvania =

What does the Auditor General do?
The Auditor General of Pennsylvania and his staff of around 150 people conduct audits, oversee the work done by other contract audit services, and the other staff members create reports for the Auditor General so he/she can stay informed about cases he/she didn't audit. They preform over 6,000 audits yearly. The Auditor General works together with his staff to ensure the integrity of this monetary system. It is also their job to assess how state funding was spent. After an audit is completed, they look at how the money was spent and if that money can be spent more efficiently in the future. Auditors strive to measure the performance of the orginizations they assess. In addition to watching the states overall spending, they examine school records, intermediate units, and vocational schools. They decide whether the schools deserve to receive the subsidies and reimbursements that they are entitled to. They also check to make sure the teachers are properly certified and that all school regulations and rules are followed. Other state organizations that recieve funding like liquor stores, public employee pensions, and state agencies are also audited. Finally the general auditor oversees commonwealth fines, costs, fees, taxes, restitutions, and surcharges to make sure that they are properly addressed and collected for the appropriate state agency.The Auditor General conducts all of this in a four year term and recieves $152,443 as his yearly salary.

More specifically, there are two types of audits:
 * **Financial**- provides users of financial reports with assurance concerning reliability
 * **Performance**- gauges whether government programs and activities are meeting stated goals and objectives, and if tax dollar are being spent efficiently and effectively


 * The purpose of an audit is to address: **
 * the degree to which value-for-money has been achieved for taxpayers' dollars
 * the effectiveness of organizations in meeting government objectives
 * the quality of management and use of resources
 * improvements in management practices and systems of government organizations
 * the fair presentation of annual financial statements prepared by agencies
 * Compliance with legislative and other requirements

Qualifications for the Pennsylvania Auditor General
Although there are no specific qualifications for the Auditor General, there are many things that a good Auditor General should be;
 * A good listener
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">Great time and finance management skills
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">Easy to trust and get along with
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">Analytical and skeptical, while staying focused
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">Great communication skills
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">Extreme patience

<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">State Representative John Maher of Allegheny County
<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;"> <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">John Maher has been the Certified Public Accountant for nearly thirty years in Pennsylvania. John worked for organizations and governments ensuring they had professional audits providing their Boards and the taxpaying public proper accountability on where dollars were spent. John has received high marks for his voting record protecting Pennsylvania small businesses and job creators. He was a graduate of Duke University, with an A.B. degree in Management Sciences / Accounting. He has also completed scholarship studies at Oxford University and the Australian Graduate School of Management.


 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">Fred Pinto of Dauphin County **

<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; line-height: 0px; overflow: hidden;"> <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">Frank Pinto has been the chairman of the Board and Audit Committee Chairman for the Capital Area Transit as well as a member of Board of Directors for the National Civil War Museum. He was the former vice chairman of St. Margaret Mary’s School Board and Chairman of the Historical Society of Dauphin county board. He received his BA from La Salle College, his MA from Villanova University and preformed his doctoral studies at Bryn-Mawr College, Scholar in Residence. =**Democratic Candidate**= =**Eugene DePasquale of York County**=

<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;"> <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">Eugene DePasquale is a third-term State Representative from York County. Eugene was born in the blue-collar city of Pittsburgh. Growing up in the Steel City in the ’70s and ’80s taught Eugene the important lessons of hard work and earning your way. He also witnessed first-hand how the closing of the steel mills devastated families and communities. Eugene graduated from Central Catholic High School. He was a baseball player football at the College of Wooster. He received his MA in Public Administration from the University of Pittsburgh and a law degree from the Widener University School of Law