The Unsung Heroes of an Organization

In my 36 years of auditing, I’ve had the pleasure to work with many people who made the job enjoyable. These people made a significant contribution, but may not have been recognized for the outstanding work they did.

These people are my heroes.

By hero I mean an ordinary person who does extraordinary things, despite the odds being stacked against them. They typically prevail in the end.

Today, I’d like to recognize two of my heroes – Jimmy Morrissey and Eileen Chambers, recently retired from the New York State Comptroller’s Office.

I first met Jim and Eileen when I was asked to take over the State Expenditures Bureau in the State Comptroller’s Office. This bureau was responsible for auditing all expenditures in the State of New York before they were paid. It was a labor-intensive, clerical audit operation. My goal was to transform it into a modern, risk-based professional audit unit, using the latest audit techniques to find fraud, waste, and improper transactions. 

At first, I turned to people who were in higher grade levels, but I learned that many of these people were the caretakers of the organization. There was a system in place and they were the guardians of that system. They made it work and they didn’t want anything to disturb the daily flow of activity.

I needed to find the leaders who were willing to embrace a new way of doing business and willing to learn about new data analysis tools. Jim and Eileen soon emerged from the crowd to demonstrate that leadership. While they were not the managers of the organization, they were the staff people who understood how the system worked and how it could be changed.

I don’t think they know how important they were to modernizing the audit and payment process in the State of New York.

Eileen Chambers went on to become one of the best speakers I’ve ever encountered. She received a standing ovation from her peers as she taught others about the changing audit approach. And when others wouldn’t, she would go to the field to confirm her audit findings. I still remember the pictures she would take to demonstrate some stupid payment an agency manger would want to make – for example, a doctor who claimed to serve the disabled, but had an office that was not accessible to the handicapped! The picture told a real story.

Jim Morrissey was too often being told by his manager or supervisor, “there was nothing there.” Meaning the audit issue wasn’t worth pursuing. This is an easy tack to take – it doesn’t require a lot of work. Despite this lack of support, Jim forged ahead and uncovered more improper payments than other auditors. More importantly, Jim was always going to the field to verify the substance of the underlying transaction. He found printers in storage purchased from year end funds; a payment to clean a smokestack, but when he climbed it he learned the work was not done. He found fraudulent documents that were used to support payments because he took the time to go to vendors to see if the documentation was proper. His work was a shining example to others.

Jim and Eileen are the unsung heroes of the organization. They are role models young staff and others would do well to emulate.

My life has been enhanced by working with them. 

I salute their efforts and the significant contributions they made to improve the audit practices in the New York State Comptroller’s Office. As they move on to new adventures in life – I wish them Godspeed!