There is an internal audit department that checks the work of the auditors. So every audit that’s done gets re-checked by the internal audit department. And if they found something, the auditor claims that they found something wrong, it gets checked twice.
And maybe every 10 years, sometimes less, eight to 10 years, we invite an outside company in to conduct a review to make sure that around the world it’s all done to the same standard. In the public accounting profession, it’s called the peer review. We borrow that idea.
And then you have the ultimate test, which is the publisher can appeal every audit that we do. They have the right to file an appeal to the tribunal of publishers, advertisers and agencies, where they will come in and present why they find our findings are not fair. So again it’s enough check and balance to make sure that things are going the way they should be.
TT: There are AC Nelson reports in the market. How do you recommend media buyers take advantage of these two reports?
Hansen: I believe very strongly that audits complement research. They work together. They are not competitive products. One supports the other.
The audit is the foundation for the house or the building. You have to have a good, deep foundation in order for the house to survive, whatever natural catastrophe or otherwise may occur. And on that you can build, which is your research.
TT: Do you think the government should play a role in the study of the basic structural elements of the print media, including the circulation, readership and financial resources?
Hansen: I am an American, so I don’t think the government should play a role. If the government is interested in raw consumption of materials, then there is something for them to do. But in terms of getting involved in the measurement of the distribution, no, I don’t think the government has a role to play.
If people are found to be cheating, then the government has a role to play; it is a criminal offense. But in terms of market statistics, I think it’s best to be left to the industry to police itself than for the government to get involved, particularly because the government normally doesn’t understand every single market sector.
So it becomes a situation where you have people who are not involved in the industry trying to regulate the industry. It normally doesn’t work.
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