We’re giving you a big reveal of SCACPA Con! These sessions aren’t just presentations — they’re missions. Each one is crafted to equip you with the tools, insights, and strategies to face the challenges of today’s profession.
This week, we’re peaking behind the mask of Dwayne Eanes, director of state audits at the South Carolina Office of the State Auditor. He is ready to pull back the mask of overconfidence and reveal what’s really happening behind the scenes of government audit quality.
CPAs are often overly confident of their abilities to perform audits. With their strong analytical and research skills, they think they can figure out just about anything if given enough time. Unfortunately, the review of the quality of audits by the AICPA contradicts this notion especially in the arena of state and local government audits. These audits are required to be selected during a firm’s peer review, so a CPA can’t avoid a third party reviewing the quality of their work. They can run but they can’t hide from the audit quality police.
In this course, we will discuss the most common deficiencies in audit quality. Participation by the audience is a must because it is expected that most of them perform government audits. Auditing governments is unlike any other audit and has some special requirements that should discourage a CPA from dabbling in government audit. However, it appears that many CPAs are not easily discouraged and aren’t in the practice of turning down new work. Government audits aren’t as profitable as those of private companies, so a CPA must count the cost of becoming and staying competent enough to produce a quality product while also making the juice worth the squeeze.
At the end of the course, participants will be given some tips to help them avoid performing a low-quality audit. This part of the course will be particularly valuable to attendees as they hear how their colleagues address these issues and will have the chance to share their own war stories.
As a manager in the assurance and advisory services department of Scott McElveen, L.L.P., Dwayne’s experience includes ten years of servicing clients in various industries including government, manufacturing, healthcare, non-profit, and technology. Dwayne’s ERISA experience is primarily in the area of defined contribution plans. He is a certified public accountant licensed in North Carolina and South Carolina, and earned his B.A. in economics from the College of William and Mary and his M.S. in accounting from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.
Common Quality Issues in State and Local Government Financial Statement Audits
Friday, May 16
8:05 a.m.–9:45 a.m.
