* Performance Audit Overview:
* A performance audit focuses on evaluating the economy, efficiency, and effectiveness of government programs or activities.
* Due professional care is a requirement inGovernment Auditing Standards (Yellow Book), ensuring auditors perform their duties responsibly and with professional judgment.
* Key Requirement: Sufficient and Competent Evidence:
* Auditors must collect sufficient and reliable evidence to support their findings, conclusions, and recommendations. This is the cornerstone of "due professional care."
* Explanation of Answer Choices:
* A. Obtain sufficient and competent evidence: Correct. This ensures audit findings are supported by reliable, documented evidence.
* B. Determine scope: While part of audit planning, it is not directly related to due professional care.
* C. Set materiality of financial statements: This applies to financial audits, not performance audits.
* D. Present the findings in accordance with GAAP: GAAP is not a requirement for performance audits.
References:
* GAO,Government Auditing Standards (Yellow Book).
* Association of Government Accountants (AGA),Performance Auditing Practices.

What Is a Lockbox?
* Alockboxis a service provided by banks to streamline the collection of payments. Customers send payments directly to a bank-managed P.O. box, where the bank processes and deposits them on behalf of the organization.
Why Does a Lockbox Eliminate Internal Office Processing Delays?
* Payments are sent directly to the bank, bypassing the organization's internal mail and deposit processes.
This eliminates delays caused by handling checks internally and ensures quicker access to funds.
Why Other Options Are Incorrect:
* B. Mail and check-clearing time:Lockboxes reduce internal processing delays but do not affect the mail delivery time or bank check-clearing processes.
* C. Delays in the availability of funds after transaction initiation:Fund availability depends on banking processes, not the lockbox.
* D. Writing of checks against insufficient funds:Lockboxes do not prevent the issuance of bad checks.
References and Documents:
* Treasury Financial Manual:Describes lockboxes as tools to reduce internal delays in payment processing.
* GAO Financial Management Best Practices:Highlights the benefits of lockboxes in expediting deposits.

Why Measure Performance Based on Cost per Ton of Trash Collected?
* Costper ton of trash collectedis a direct, objective, and quantifiable measure of the contractor's performance. It reflects how efficiently the contractor is operating relative to the amount of trash being managed.
* This measure aligns with the principle of output-based performance evaluation, which focuses on results (e.g., tons of trash collected) rather than inputs or unrelated factors.
Why Other Options Are Incorrect:
* A. Per mile traveled:Mileage is not directly tied to performance; it depends on the route structure and geography, not the quantity of trash collected.
* C. Comparison with closest comparable jurisdiction:While this may provide context, it is not a specific performance measure.
* D. Per employee:Employee count does not directly measure performance or efficiency in trash collection operations.
References and Documents:
* GAO Guide on Contract Performance Evaluation:Recommends using measurable and outcome- based metrics like cost per ton collected for performance reviews.
* Best Practices in Local Government Contracting (AGA):Highlights output-based measures for evaluating contractor performance.