Margaret Nicklas has been auditing or evaluating federal, state and local government programs for 12 of the past 14 years. She spent more than 3 years working at the federal level, working for both the U.S. General Accounting Office and the U. S. Department of Labor’s Office of Inspector General from 1991 through 1994.

Ms. Nicklas served the City of Austin, Texas in the City Auditor’s Office, from 1990-1991 as an intern and again from 1995 through 2001 in progressively more responsible positions. During that time, she supervised audits of contract management, use of change orders, and compliance with federal grant reimbursement requirements during the construction of a $585 million dollar international airport. In addition, she managed a comprehensive performance audit of the city-county indigent health care clinic system. She also assisted with audits of citywide grants management, financial management systems within the Austin Police Department and other topics. She ended her tenure with the City of Austin in 2001, as an Assistant City Auditor.

Ms. Nicklas has been providing professional development instruction throughout her professional career, presenting to audiences on such topics as strategic planning and risk assessment, audit planning, project management and writing. She has also led and helped conduct peer reviews of other city audit offices. In 2002, she assisted in the completion of a research grant at the University of Texas at Austin and was an adjunct professor of writing for Austin Community College.

She is currently a senior auditor with the State Auditor’s Office, State of Texas where she has worked since April 2003. She recently managed an audit of the state’s efforts to implement its bioterrorism preparedness plan. This audit involved extensive analysis of contracts with local health departments that received federal grant funds through the state to improve preparedness. Ms. Nicklas also led the team that issued the opinion on the state’s compliance with federal requirements and internal controls for this federal grant. She was recently named the federal coordinator for the State Auditor’s Office and will be continuing to expand her knowledge of federal and state grant compliance issues.

Ms. Nicklas has a Bachelor’s Degree in Linguistics from Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. and a Master’s Degree in Public Affairs from the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs, at the University of Texas at Austin.