MAPS Performance Auditing to Evaluate Organizations

Course Overview

Course Description

Performance audits are an essential tool for evaluating how well organizations achieve their objectives and use resources effectively. This course introduces participants to the principles, methodologies, and best practices used to plan, conduct, and report performance audits.

Participants will learn how to evaluate organizational operations, gather and analyze evidence, conduct effective audit interviews, and communicate audit findings that support informed decision-making and organizational improvement. Through lectures, discussions, practical exercises, and simulated audit activities, participants will develop the foundational skills needed to perform performance audits that assess efficiency, effectiveness, economy, and compliance while fostering productive relationships with auditees.

Intended Audience

This course is designed for all public service professionals who want to gain knowledge about the effectiveness of their work, policies, and programs through program evaluations, audits, and policy analysis. 

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this course, you will be able to:

• Explain the purpose and value of performance auditing in evaluating organizational performance and accountability.
• Apply the phases of the performance audit process, including planning, fieldwork, analysis, reporting, and follow-up.
• Analyze organizational processes to identify strengths, risks, inefficiencies, and opportunities for improvement.
• Manage professional interactions and interpersonal dynamics between auditors and auditees throughout the audit process.
• Develop clear, evidence-based audit findings, conclusions, and recommendations that support organizational improvement.
• Communicate audit results effectively through concise and objective audit reports and presentations.

Course Materials

Course materials will be provided in class.

Instructor

Leigh R. Anderson, Ph.D., MPA-IG, CIGA, CIGE

Originally from Saint Louis, Missouri, Dr. Leigh R. Anderson graduated, summa cum laude, phi beta kappa, from Howard University with two Bachelors of Arts Degrees in Administration of Justice and Spanish. She went on to graduate from John Jay College of Criminal Justice’s Masters of Public Administration-Inspector General Program, and then successfully obtained a Ph.D. in Public Policy and Management from the John Glenn College at The Ohio State University. By way of certifications, Dr. Leigh R. Anderson is a Certified Inspector General Auditor (CIGA), a Certified Inspector General Inspector/Evaluator (CIGE), both through the Association of Inspectors General, and a Certified Homicide Investigator through the North East Multi-Regional Training® Police Training Institute.

In addition to being certified, Dr. Anderson is an instructor for the Association of Inspectors General - Inspector General Institute® Certified Inspector/Evaluator Course, certified by the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA). In her capacity with the Association of Inspectors General, she also serves as a member of the Peer Review Team - The Association of Inspectors General (AIG) ‘encourages professional development; standardizing practices, policies, and ethics; and establishing professional qualifications, and certifications of Offices of Inspectors General (OIG).’ The AIG peer review program assesses AIG member organizations in their efforts to comply with statutes, local ordinances, charters, etc., further fortifying Dr. Anderson’s overall interest in executing and ensuring proper oversight in the public sector.

Dr. Anderson currently serves as the Executive Director of the Police Accountability Team for the City of Cleveland, Ohio. She came to Cleveland as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Criminal Justice Studies at Southern Illinois University and a Contractual Chief of Staff for the City of Oakland Office of the Inspector General under the City’s Police Commission. Previously, Dr. Anderson served as a Chief Performance Analyst in the Public Safety Section of the City of Chicago Office of Inspector General where she led and conducted audits and evaluations of the Chicago Police Department (CPD), the Civilian Office of Police Accountability (COPA), and the Police Board (PB) to increase public safety, protect civil liberties, and increase the public’s confidence in the City of Chicago public safety structure.

Dr. Anderson is a member of the City of Ferguson’s Federal Consent Decree Monitoring Team. On April 19, 2016, the City of Ferguson, Missouri and the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) entered into a Consent Decree after a 2015 DOJ investigation found a “pattern and practice” of unlawful and racially-biased conduct by the City’s police department and court system. As a member of the Monitoring Team, her responsibilities include conducting reviews and audits to determine whether the City, Ferguson Police Department, and the Municipal Court are in compliance with the Consent Decree. Additionally, efforts involve providing technical assistance as needed to guide the City through the complete implementation of the Consent Decree’s three important phases: (1) policy review and revision; (2) training and implementation; and (3) auditing and compliance assessment.

Standing at the nexus of practice and theory, Dr. Anderson consults with a number of police departments to assist with police accountability and reform efforts including developing sets of policies and procedures that are in line with 21st Century Policing best practices and the tenets of procedural justice. For example, she led an audit for the Gary, Indiana Police Department in conjunction with the Joyce Foundation where the overall goal was to assist with assessing current practices and developing a blueprint for a set of policies and procedures in line with best practices and procedural justice.

In the world of Academia, Dr. Anderson has taught various courses related to policing including travelling back to her alma mater, Howard University, to teach courses such as Police, Law and Society; Criminology; Principles of Criminal Justice; and Victimology. She is also a former Assistant Professor in the Department of Criminal Justice, Political Science, and Philosophy at Chicago State University where she taught courses such as Criminal Investigation; Research Design in Criminal Justice; Police Operations; Research Foundations in Criminal Justice; Police Organization and Management; and Juvenile Delinquency and Juvenile Justice. Dr. Anderson also works with The Ohio State The Ohio State University – John Glenn College of Public Affairs’ Management Advancement for the Public Service (MAPS) Program, where annually she teaches ”Conducting Performance, Audits, Program Evaluations, and Policy Analyses” to other public services professionals from various agencies throughout Ohio.

She has travelled to produce studies which have covered various topics including evaluating and assessing the conflicts that Native American tribes have with states over federal homeland security funding; researching the controversial 2007 Kenyan Presidential Election and its impact on the perspectives of Kenyan citizens towards tribalism and the ethnic vote in politics; evaluating the role of women in post conflict reconstruction in Rwanda; and researching the Hurricane Katrina devastation, the 2010 Earthquake in Santiago, Chile, and the 2011 Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami in Japan – outlining the decision making processes of law enforcement officers when acting as first responders to a disaster by which they are personally impacted.

Her research specializations include community engagement and policing; intergovernmental relations; federalism and public safety; police accountability and oversight; monitoring and evaluation; and leadership and procedural justice. She is co-author of the book titled Policing in Natural Disasters (Temple University Press; Fall 2019) as well as co-author of the publication "Coping through a Disaster: Lessons from Hurricane Katrina," Journal of Homeland Security and Emergency Management: Vol. 8: Iss.1, Article 19. Her research has also been published as a chapter within the Department of Homeland Security sponsored book, Developing NextGeneration Countermeasures for Homeland Security Threat Prevention (2016). Dr.

Anderson is currently working on another book, focusing on case studies which will detail best practices for providing recommendations to senior public safety officials regarding the implementation of effective and efficient programmatic and accountability measures.

Dr. Anderson is very active in the community. She serves on the Board of Directors of the Rainey Institute, a non-profit community arts center dedicated to engaging Cleveland’s youth through dance, drama, music, and visual arts. She is also on the Board of Directors for the Journey Center for Safety and Healing - Cuyahoga County’s most comprehensive domestic violence agency which provides services that foster safety and healing for those affected by child abuse and domestic violence; and prevents abuse through education, advocacy, and systemic change.

In February 2025, she was a guest speaker, along with the Chief of Police, for an endowed program at the City Club of Cleveland to discuss progress and challenges associated with achieving compliance with Consent Decrees. The forum layed at the nexus of their Politics, Public Policy, and Criminal Justice series.

Dr. Anderson was humbled to be named one of Crain’s Notable Black Leaders for 2024. In 2024, she was also named to be one of the inaugural recipients of the ‘Engage! Cleveland’ 24 in 24 Award, an honor bestowed upon the city's most accomplished 24 emerging professionals. In 2023, she was recognized as a recipient of the 40 under 40 award in Northeast Ohio by Crain’s Cleveland Business. Dr. Anderson was fortunate enough to be nominated and subsequently selected for the Leadership Cleveland Class of 2024 – a great honor. Sponsored by the Cleveland Leadership Center (CLC), this program empowers experienced, senior-level positional leaders with the knowledge, skills and relationships to deepen their civic understanding while advancing and deepening their impact in the community. Dr. Anderson is also honored to have been profiled as an Alumna of the Doctoral Program in Public Policy from the John Glenn College of Public Affairs at The Ohio State University. The Glenn College is the number one ranked public affairs school in the State of Ohio and the number 16th ranked Public Affairs College out of 271 schools in the nation. In October of 2021, Dr. Anderson was awarded the Distinguished Young Alumni Achievement Award which recognizes alumni who have demonstrated early distinctive achievement in their public service careers.

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Waitlist
What happens if I am on a waitlist for a course? You will receive an email confirming you have been added to a waitlist. If a spot becomes available, you will be notified by email.  

CEU and CPE Policy
Attendance in this course can earn:

• 0.6 Continuing Education Units (CEUs)
• 7.2 Continuing Professional Education Units (CPEs)

Attendance is recorded at check-in at the start of the day, and full CEU or CPE credit is awarded based on an honor system, with the expectation that participants are present and actively engaged for the full MAPS course.

Course Certificate
Your course certificate will be emailed to you following the course. It will reflect your Continuing Education Units (CEUs) and Continuing Professional Education Units (CPEs) earned and your attendance of the course. 

Photography
The Ohio State University may occasionally take pictures during educational events for use in program communication. If you do not want to be photographed during this course, please email the MAPS team at glenn-training@osu.edu.

MAPS Membership 
A MAPS member receives a discounted rate of $250 for each course with the initial purchase of at least 12 credits. Each credit equals one course for one individual.

To inquire about becoming a MAPS member, please fill out the MAPS Membership Form. A Glenn College Professional Development team member will reach out to you.

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