Effective inquiries are an important part of gathering reliable and relevant information during a governmental audit. This course helps participants strengthen their interviewing and information-gathering skills by developing greater awareness of their own strengths and opportunities for improvement when interacting with personnel during an audit engagement.

Participants will explore how intentional curiosity and thoughtful questioning can encourage interviewees to share complete, accurate, and relevant information. The course focuses on asking insightful and transformative questions that move beyond simply collecting answers and help auditors better understand the information, circumstances, and risks surrounding an audit engagement.

The course also examines how auditors can evaluate the responses they receive. Participants will consider how information gathered through inquiries compares with other audit evidence and how inconsistencies, unexpected responses, or patterns in the information may point to potential risk or bias. This approach helps auditors use professional judgment when determining how information gathered through interviews should inform their audit work.

Finally, participants will explore best practices for documenting inquiry results. Clear and effective written documentation helps communicate what was learned, support professional standards, and facilitate appropriate supervision and review of governmental audits. Through practical application and discussion, participants will connect effective interviewing techniques with stronger information gathering, analysis, documentation, and audit judgment.