ABSTRACT
Accountability is an increasingly important issue with respect to government and its relations with constituents.1 The contemporary public administrator must be well versed in means by which to provide accountability to his or her constituents, while at the same time maintaining good relations with staff and efficient operations of the governmental unit. In light of the welldocumented push for the privatization of many governmental services (Murphy 1996), it is even more important to understand the appropriate means of providing accountability, even in situations in which government contracts out or privatizes previously publicly produced goods or services. One of the major means of providing such accountability is through the auditor role. A clear knowledge of the audit function, its possible forms, and appropriate uses can go a long way to aiding the modern public administrator in doing his or her job and in being responsive to both market conditions and constituent concerns.
