Managing Your Relations With the Agency

Guidelines are presented of actions that can be taken to foster cooperative relationships with agency officials and others being audited by GAO. Although presented from a perspective of working at locations away from agency headquarters, the techniques and principles of effective, continuous two-way communication throughout an assignment are equally applicable to agency headquarters' activities. The information is applicable to all assignments and is presented in three phases: presite activities, site activities; and post-site activities. Each part discusses information to know or actions to take at each phase to improve the prospects for constructive relations with agency officials. A brief discussion of the importance of each idea is followed by a series of questions designed to assist the auditor in selecting a strategy for interacting with agency officials.