OIG Senior Staff Bios
James A. Heist
Assistant Inspector General for Audit
Office of Audit
James Heist was appointed as the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Assistant Inspector General for Audit in March 2001. The Office of Inspector General's (OIG) mission is independent and objective reporting to the Secretary and the Congress for the purpose of bringing about positive change in the integrity, efficiency, and effectiveness of HUD operations. At HUD, Mr. Heist has also held positions as Acting Deputy Inspector General and Director of the Financial Audits Division.
Mr. Heist began his Federal career in 1976 as an auditor with the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Subsequently, Mr. Heist held increasingly responsible auditor positions at the U.S. Departments of Interior and Education.
As Assistant Inspector General for Audit, Mr. Heist heads the Office of Audit, an independent organization responsible for audits of HUD's programs and activities. Mr. Heist leads and directs HUD, OIG's audit activities; recommends actions to promote economy, efficiency and effectiveness in HUD's programs and operations; and works to prevent and detect fraud and abuse in HUD activities.
As Director of the Financial Audits Division, Mr. Heist directed HUD, OIG's financial audit and related activities and led the successful implementation of HUD, OIG's responsibilities under the Chief Financial Officer's Act of 1990. This included directing HUD, OIG audit staff and overseeing the work of certified public accounting firms engaged to audit HUD's financial statements. He organized a new division and developed the expertise needed to meet this legislated mandate. In addition, Mr. Heist had headquarters oversight responsibilities for OIG efforts to monitor the work of non-Federal auditors. This included establishing policies for HUD-OIG field reviews of work performed by non-Federal auditors and developing audit guidance for non-Federal auditors.
Mr. Heist is a Certified Public Accountant and Certified Government Financial Manager. He received his Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from Shippensburg State College, Shippensburg, Pennsylvania in 1976. He is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, the Association of Government Accountants, and the Institute of Internal Auditors.