The next Delaware State Auditor requires someone who will bring a new kind of thinking to the office - a 21st century mindset. The office demands a leader in transparency, accountability and responsibility. Kathy McGuiness possesses these necessary qualifications and holds the upmost standards to run an elected office and serve as Delaware's fiscal watchdog.
To ensure that government auditors live up to their responsibilities to look beyond the balance sheet and make sure that taxpayers get a fair deal out of their government, government auditing standards exist. These standards are produced by the U.S. Government Accountability Office. These standards are: independence, due care, supervision, quality control and continuing professional education. They are used by federal, state and local governments, as well as CPA firms who perform local government financial audits. These standards tell us what we need in a chief auditor. Kathy as Delaware's next state auditor best embodies each of these attributes.
Kathy has spent decades holding those in power accountable in government, from serving on nonprofit boards to being in business. For over 16 years, Kathy has been an independent voice on the City of Rehoboth Beach Budget and Finance Committees. As a city commissioner, she pushed for the state to fund multimillion-dollar projects. Recently, Kathy's oversight of the new municipal construction project saved taxpayers money which has led to the creation of new transparent processes. She has been a consistent independent voice fighting fraud and waste and abuse as a city commissioner.
Kathy will take due care to ensure taxpayers get a fair deal from the state government as she has demonstrated as a pharmacist, nonprofit leader, realtor and mother. She will make sure that tax dollars are carefully accounted for and spent for the benefit of the citizens of Delaware.
Kathy will make sure that workers are being paid and mandated fair wages under state contracts, and that public-private partnerships benefit workers and the state. "Due care" also means that Kathy will be a watchdog over the agencies, school districts and government projects to guarantee that state audits are done timely and accurately.
Kathy has been in positions to supervise a host of business and nonprofit entities. Service as a small business owner, president, secretary and treasurer of Rehoboth Beach Main Street, Meals on Wheels LR, member of the Delaware Pharmacists Society, State of Delaware Motion Picture and Television Development Commission, and as a trustee of the board of Delaware State University, have all provided Kathy opportunities to lead and supervise successful entities.
As the next state auditor, Kathy is fully ready to pursue excellence and control the quality of the work performed by the auditor's office. As a pharmacist, Kathy is trained to know that precision in serving people is paramount. In dealing with Rehoboth's new City Hall, Kathy advocated that quality controls be in place. She is committed to running the auditor's office with transparency, accountability and proactivity to make sure the citizens get the best return on their tax dollars. As she has in the past, Kathy will look at best practices, state-of-the-art technology and established account practices to improve efficiency and results.
Kathy knows that the auditor's office can do more by returning the staff to adequate levels in order to perform the necessary audits and reviews in the state. She has shown her commitment by becoming a certified fraud examiner. To save taxpayer money, she will only contract audits to third parties when her trained staff is unable to meet the requirement for an audit. Kathy has the right kind of experience to be Delaware's 21st century auditor.
Jack Young Esq.
Rehoboth Beach
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