ALTHOUGH SOME AUDITORS ARE CONCERNED THAT INVESTIGATIVE EFFORTS WILL OVERSHADOW THEIR DUTIES AS A RESULT OF THE NEW LAW, THEIR CONCERN IS NOT JUSTIFIED. THE AUDIT FUNCTION HAS GROWN AND CHANGED FROM ITS EARLY EMPHASIS ON FINANCE AND COMPLIANCE TO AN EMPHASIS ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY THROUGH MANAGEMENT AND PROGRAM AUDITS. CYCLE AUDITS HAVE DECLINED IN IMPORTANCE, WHILE DETERMINING ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY AND DETECTING FRAUD AND ABUSE HAVE BECOME MORE IMPORTANT. THE MAIN CONCERN IS PREVENTION OF FRAUD RATHER THAN DETECTION AND PROSECUTION OF IT. USE OF STATISTICAL SAMPLING AND COMPUTER MATCHING HAS GREATLY IMPROVED AUDITING'S EFFICIENCY. SEVERAL RECENT CASES HAVE SHOW HOW STANDARD AUDIT TECHNIQUES HAVE UNCOVERED SIGNIFICANT INSTANCES OF FRAUD AND ABUSE. THE IG ACT WILL MEAN NO CHANGE IN DAILY AUDIT PROCEDURES, BUT COORDINATION WITH INVESTIGATION WILL BE CLOSER THAN BEFORE. ANY CHANGES AGENCIES EXPERIENCE WILL RESULT NOT FROM THE LAW BUT FROM ADVANCES IN AUDITING TECHNIQUES. COOPERATION AMONG DIFFERENT AGENCIES AND LEVELS OF GOVERNMENT WILL BE NECESSARY FOR THE OVERALL IMPROVEMENT OF AUDITS. (CFW)