We asked Susanne Hancock why she’s worked here for more than 10 years—it came down to three things

SAO Assistant Audit Manager Susanne Hancock has worked here since 2015 auditing local governments to help ensure a cost-effective and collaborative process, and she absolutely loves it. During a recent event recognizing her years of service, she explained why:

"People, passion and purpose.”

We asked her to elaborate and she did, offering a glimpse into what it's like serving the public with our Office. In her own words:

People: SAO has the most amazing culture. I’ve never worked anyplace like this. I love that I get to work in an energetic, supportive and collaborative environment. I love that SAO seeks, attracts, and maintains staff with diverse backgrounds, interests and strengths. Because SAO supports a variety of voices at the table (from our newest hire to our most senior staff), I am always learning something new or seeing a perspective I had not previously considered. Not only does this help me grow, I think it helps us arrive at the best of many possible solutions.

Passion: I love a puzzle and a challenge. At SAO I am never bored. I look forward to going to work. How many people get to say that?! I have opportunities to grow and stretch in areas that interest me. No day is the same. Every entity and every audit is different. I love that there is room for creativity in what we do. Although we operate within a framework, we get to design the best approach to address risk or meet the needs of each audit. It is so satisfying when we find a new successful approach.

Purpose: I feel proud of our work, because I know the work we do matters. As an independent set of eyes, we are in a unique position to help identify areas for improvement and offer recommendations and resources.  Where we see great processes, we get to “tell that story” through our audit conclusions and reports which helps to support public trust in government. (I’ve proudly shared links to our public website and resources on more than one occasion in public forums.) Overall, our work helps ensure public dollars are safeguarded and properly accounted for. In my own way, through our work, I feel like I’m making a positive contribution to the success of my community.

Interested in making a career here?

Visit our Careers and Culture webpage to learn more and see our current openings.