Stepping away from the normal financial observations originally planned for this week's article, let us congratulate my friend, and fellow finance professional, Heather Jacobs Matthews, CA, CFE, for her appointment as the new Auditor General of our country.

Heather is superbly qualified for this position. She will serve the people of Bermuda with justice, equanimity, full confidence in the law and fairness in upholding the principles of international auditing and accounting.

Why would anyone want this job? After the disrespectful treatment of the current Auditor General, it ain't the prestige, for sure. It requires quiet skill, intuitive judgment, sound educational background, experience, character and resolve in putting the interests of the public above all, above ridicule, without fear, and a fierce determination to do the right thing.

In a way, it is kind of like a pilot's job; in rough seas, no matter how well you negotiate the shoals of audit management, the client is never happy having to pay! It is the Auditor General position that ultimately determines whether our government within our international finance centre is operating transparently, in good faith, with full and complete disclosure in managing the people's money for the good of the people.

It is a powerful job; used positively it can promote the highest of governance standards. With the constant focus on offshore, new anti-money laundering regulations and misconceptions about tax havens, auditor decisions must be sacrosanct. The independent decision making processes that an auditor undergoes requires tremendous fortitude in the face of adversity and the absolute conviction that the audit path is correct and complete.

When an auditor (or auditing company) certifies (without prejudice) that a public company, a government department, a quango, or full government consolidated position has earned an unqualified opinion, that is pure positive power. It means that that they have passed the clean test - in other words, the Auditor General Good Government Seal of Approval.

What goes into the audit process? A whole lot more than counting a bunch of jelly beans! It is the process of independent outside satisfactory verification of all financial (and related-non financial) transactions involving at a minimum, expenditures, revenue, cash flows, financial commitments, present and future liabilities, management of risk and investment assets and preservation of the country's net worth.

The auditing process also focuses on fraud, because not everyone is as pure as you and me. In any given organisation regardless of who or what or where it is, fraud compliance officers know that at least one percent of the employees, vendors, associates, and related parties are actively engaged in stealing money, goods, services, and assets while another three to four percent are thinking about, or planning to commit fraud.

It is no surprise that auditors are a very special group, professionally trained to be cynical, almost obsessed with ferreting out financial fraud. It requires a constant financial learning curve in this complex offshore operating environment.

Ms Jacobs Matthews is also Certified Fraud Examiner, one of a small elite global group of 33,000. After qualifying as a Chartered Accountant, a rigorous course of study in itself - I know 'cause it almost killed me - consider just some of the components of fraud detection study:

Varied forms of financial statement fraud including billing schemes, cash larceny, bribery and corruption; legal requirements for fraud prevention within an organisation and Sarbanes-Oxley fraud prevention requirements; data investigation techniques utilised during the course of fraud investigation, along with interview and interrogation techniques commonly utilised in fraud examination; and utilisation of forensic accounting, data analysis, and computer forensics to conduct investigations into fraud and corruption.

It requires a sense of humour and tremendous balance. The Auditor General is not in the business of winning a popularity contest, nor making anyone happy, just because they have been told they aren't doing the right thing.

It demands ethical excellence in all avenues of approach, combined with fiduciary professional judgment. The Auditor General is an arbiter of the reputational excellence of our country.

It is a lonely job - the Auditor General carries secrets, confidences, and highly sensitive political and financial information on the operations of the country's purse. Some of these secrets can never be revealed and may be carried to the grave.

No one can truly understand what this type of isolation means unless you have experienced the same training and job involvement.

Justice Ruth Bader, the only woman on the United States Supreme Court, was said to have stated that "she loved her job with a great passion, but it was a lonely job".

It is a thankless job. There have had to have been times when the current Auditor General wondered if he would survive to live another day, but he did while still maintaining constant vigilance and fierce dedication to his vocation. No one can question his strength of intolerance toward corruption, for it only takes a hint, an innuendo to destroy decades of a hard-earned reputation for good governance and consequent ratings downgrades.

No one can question his enduring love of his profession, his community and country. He deserves to be rewarded more than we can ever give back to him.

Mr. Larry Dennis, I am grateful and I thank you for upholding the standards of our profession. Your personal integrity and ethical standards have never been stronger or more influential. Bermuda needs to express their gratitude, too.

I have no doubt that Ms. Jacobs Matthews will uphold the same standards with good will and humour, for she had a great sense of both. Bermuda has chosen well for this time and place. Bravo, Heather, Bravo.

Next week: More than six million non-military United States citizens, not including dual-citizens, live abroad on a permanent basis. Given the increase in tax reporting and filing, is this the time to consider expatriation? What is involved? How does it work? What are the ramifications of the largest life-decision many families will ever make?

Martha Harris Myron, CPA, CFP(US) TEP(UK) is a Certified Financial Planner¿, a United States Federally Authorised Tax Practitioner (FATP) and a Partner at Patterson Partners Ltd. She provides independent fee-only cross-border tax, estate, investment, and strategic planning services for Bermuda residents with cross-border and multi-national connections, internationally mobile people and US citizens living abroad. For more information, contact mmyron@patterson-partners.com or phone 441-296-3528.