Previous work on the valence−band structure for the aluminum L2,3 VV transition has suffered from an arbitrary correction for the secondary electron background contribution. In the present paper this contribution is accurately assessed through the application of dynamic background subtraction and the resulting structure is shown to be a step−like function. This behavior is attributed to loss processes involving the escaping Auger electrons and is taken into account by deconvoluting the Auger spectrum using the inelastic backscatter data taken with an incident electron energy of 70 eV. The resulting Auger valence−band structure is very similar in shape to the calculated spectrum but slightly narrower. Additional data will be presented which indicate that this narrowing is a result of the surface sensitivity of the Auger technique.