After 28 years of sniffing out state government waste and corruption, Schaff has earned the designation. Now he's ready to take on the job of legislative auditor general.

It's not an enviable position.

"Auditors in general really have to keep arm's length relationships," says Senate Minority Leader Mike Dmitrich. "They're out to find fault and when people are looking for fault, you don't like them."

Schaff shrugs off the stigma. It's something that comes with the job, he says.

But he'd prefer to be called a "caretaker" of public money rather than a fault-finder.

Sitting in his near-empty office in the House building behind the Capitol, the 61-year-old Schaff exudes a sort of grandfatherly charm. He's got a stack of papers in hand, including a resume and handouts to help explain his job.

"I don't tolerate the idea of waste and abuse in government," says Schaff, who is currently serving as interim auditor general. "It's my money, too."

That attitude is evident in his past work, legislative leaders say.

In 2002, Schaff assisted in a brutal review of Hogle Zoo - criticizing the tax-subsidized organization for poor management, spending and planning decisions along with a "lack of public accountability." Before that was a controversial audit of the state's Navajo Trust Fund that discovered misuse of millions of dollars of public money and major accounting fraud.

A subsequent lawsuit - which still is slogging through the court system - claimed the state owed nearly 7,500 Navajos more than $100 million because of the misdirected trust fund.

"That audit wasn't in the best interest of the state," says Schaff. "Why would we do it? It was the truth."

Incoming Senate President John Valentine said House and Senate leaders selected Schaff to be the next auditor general because of their confidence in his commitment to the truth, his objectivity and years of experience.

"John has proven himself in those areas, and though we could have looked at someone outside the state, we thought someone we had this confidence in was important," Valentine says.

In September, top auditor Wayne Welsh retired after nearly 20 years in state government. Schaff, who was then deputy auditor general, was selected as Welsh's temporary replacement until legislative leaders selected a permanent one.

Schaff was recommended for the post in late October, beating out nearly a dozen candidates. During the coming legislative session, lawmakers are expected to pass a resolution ratifying the selection.

Schaff - who turned down several out-of-state job offers and one from the LDS Church - already has begun whittling down a long list of backlogged audits.

On Wednesday, his office released three new audits, including one criticizing the construction of the Olympic Village for the 2002 Winter Games.

Legislative leaders are pleased with the results. When interviewing Schaff, they asked that the audit process be accelerated to hasten legislative fixes in problem areas.

"He'll be an excellent manager and he'll do a job that everyone can feel good about," says Welsh, who recommended Schaff as his replacement. "I'm sure he'll carry the mission of that office along further than it's ever been carried in the past."

Welsh says the office may also be more open and accessible under Schaff.

"He is probably the best people person in state government," Welsh says. "He has a wonderful sense of humor. He gets along well with people and helps build their work skills and knows a lot about government."

Schaff doesn't argue the point.

"I think I was the best person for the job," he says. "I feel like I know this business."

nwarburton@sltrib.com

John Schaff

* Age: 61

* Residence: Ogden

* Education: Bachelor's degree in business management, University of

Utah; certified internal auditor

* Professional: Deputy legislative auditor general, 15 years; audit

manager and supervisor, 12 years; auditor, U.S. General Accounting Office, seven years

Legislative auditor general

* If approved by the Legislature during the upcoming session, John Schaff will become the fourth man to take the helm of the Legislative Auditor General's Office during its 29-year history.

* Legislative auditors do more than push papers. They travel throughout the state, even venturing deep into coal mines and go on ride-alongs with construction crews and expeditions with biologists who are planting fish in high mountain lakes.

* The office has a staff of 23 and a budget of $2.1 million.