Public Access: April Gunn Revamps APA Processes

Eight years into her tenure, the fingerprints of April Gunn, CPA, are all over multiple processes at the Virginia Auditor of Public Accounts (APA). In 2006, she was promoted to Director of Data Analysis, putting her in charge of Commonwealth Data Point, Virginia’s public database of financial information. But that was just the start.

In the summer of 2009, Gunn (right) was tasked with overhauling the District Court audit process. Her efforts now save audit staff more than 5,000 hours per year.

“One of my staff and I literally sat down and walked through what they did, how we could make it better and how we could save time,” she said. “One of the things I would say is that we were both fresh to the entire judicial side of things. While it’s nice to have people who have done things forever, we were both fresh and could take a completely new look.”

Her efforts have helped the Auditor of Public Accounts in its role as a watchdog over government spending. Commonwealth Data Point allows citizens to access financial information about every state agency and how it spends money, down to specific vendors used by each agency.

“We serve as the General Assembly’s eyes and ears to monitor how state agencies and institutions spend their money,” Gunn said. “We are able to increase efficiency in the Commonwealth by providing an independent, unbiased view of any state process that we choose to review.”