Fort Smith auditor’s early work includes crafting a policies and procedures plan

Amanda Strange recently marked six months as the city of Fort Smith’s internal auditor, learning the challenges of the position, making a plan, and getting down to work as one of only two city employees who answer directly to the Fort Smith Board of Directors.

“It was a challenge stepping into a position that was vacant for more than a year,” Strange said. “I spent some time early on understanding what the internal audit department had done in the past and where it currently stood.”

Part of that understanding came from talking with city board members, Audit Advisory Committee members and city staff about their concerns, needs and suggestions.

The board of directors unanimously agreed to hire Strange on Sept. 2, 2025, with her start date set for Sept. 8. Before that the internal auditor position had sat vacant for almost 18 months, starting April 1, 2024, when Tracey Shockley resigned after nine years with the city.

The director of internal audit is only one of two top city jobs directly hired by the board, with the other being the city administrator.

Prior to her employment with the city, Strange worked in the Fort Smith office of Springfield, Mo.-based Forvis Mazars in audit and consulting services for commercial clients from June 2022 to May 2025, and she worked at BKD CPAs & Advisors from January 2008 to May 2022.

Once hired by the city, Strange got straight to work.

“Getting our 2026 internal audit plan developed and approved was a big goal at the beginning of the year,” she said. “Now the internal audit department is focused on executing those audits.”

There are nine audits on the 2026 plan, including those for federal consent decree work, utility billing, water loss analysis, and cash-on-hand counts. Along with taking those audits to the Audit Advisory Committee for review and discussion, Strange is working to set up study sessions with the board of directors to raise awareness and help everyone — the board and citizens — better understand the role of the internal audit office, she said.

“The internal audit department didn’t have formal policies and procedures in place to guide our department on how it functions day-to-day,” Strange said. “On one hand, that has been an opportunity for me to shape the department’s activities in the way I think is best. On the other hand, it has been very challenging and time-consuming.”

What an internal audit department does and how it functions should adhere to professional standards, she said, noting those are technical and require a lot of judgment.

“It is still a work-in-progress,” she said. “We are working through it as a department and developing a strong foundation that will set us up for success.”

The mission for internal audit is “to enhance and protect organizational value by providing risk-based and objective assurance, advice and insight.” Strange said an internal audit should help and support the city reach its goals. When the office was developing the 2026 internal audit plan, it focused on two questions: What could go wrong, and is it important?

“The plan is largely focused on water and sewer utilities and the consent decree, which are significant issues that the city faces right now,” she said. “As we work through our audits, our goals are to bring to light areas where we can improve the city’s processes and offer forward-looking suggestions.”

The main purpose is not to try to “catch” someone or a department doing something wrong, Strange said. It’s more to look at the practices, see where problems might arise, and try to come up with ways to stop a problem before it occurs. In short, they work to mitigate risk.

“A lot of people don’t really understand what internal audit — or any auditors — actually do,” Strange said. “Often, there is some fear or concern that an auditor is going to find something you are doing wrong, and you will get in trouble for it. That can prevent someone from speaking up or asking a question when they could use some help. It is important for me to listen to people, hear their concerns, and understand where they are coming from. I can’t always help, but I do my best to offer suggestions or do something to help the situation. I don’t ever want to be one of those scary auditors.”

Along with being approachable, Strange is focused on developing the city’s internal auditor approach so it can be consistent and effective in completing the auditions on the 2026 plan.

Personally, she has been working to become a certified internal auditor (CIA). She is a certified public accountant, but the CIA designation is focused on the internal audit principles and their specific professional standards.

“It took a lot of studying, but I just passed in late February on my first attempt at the exam,” she said. “I was very excited and am glad I put in the effort because it has really helped in developing the policies and procedures for the internal audit department.”

When not in the office, Strange spends her time listening to podcasts and in her backyard, either in the pool or tending to the garden.

“I’m quite nerdy and like ones (podcasts) about science, civics and economics,” Strange said. “My New Year’s resolution is to cook more whole foods, so I can’t wait to get some tomatoes and peppers growing.”