I pointed out somewhere (GPWA I think) that there is a great deal of difference between an accountant and an auditor – and between counting up numbers and conducting an audit.
It might not be obvious to the layman but the difference is similar to the difference between say a finishing carpenter and a structural engineer.
Accountants are expected to understand tax and accountancy law, and correctly categorise expenses, while Auditors are trained to sensibility test the numbers and vertify the sources of the data that is being displayed on records.
Given Sean’s response, I’d say that all eCOGRA did was an accountancy exercise, totalling up numbers provided by Grand Prive – and that there was no actual “audit” component in the exercise despite it being called such.
I’d make sure that Michael Corfman of GPWA receives a copy of this note – as he is currently trying to discuss the issue with Andrew Beveridge of eCOGRA – whom Michael describes as a straight-up person.