Critical thinking for the federal auditor

In the overly constrained space of the federal audit environment, to whatextent can critical thinking skills be applied in a profession characterizedby arduous public trust expectations, controlling auditing standards,prescriptive federal acquisition policies, frequently changing guidance,continual peer oversight, and the slow implementation of audit findings?Promoting the increased use of private sector auditors may suggest thatfederal auditors perceive competencies differently. However, a recentsurvey administered to 645 auditors of a federal audit agency regionindicated that the majority of the core competencies identified by theAmerican Institute of Certified Public Accountants are perceived asrelevant in auditing government contractors. However, of concern, the datawere mixed in support of critical thinking as an important competency.Given employer preference for skills in this area, the author attempts toidentify applications to increase auditor critical thinking skills and to offersuggestions for increasing the relevance of the federal audit.