[{"_1":2,"_112":-5,"_113":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,76,88,100],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},"mediaId",6277194,"mediaKeyId","2656757-a6e8b7e4cae475b0c37b34d1204090d2","parentId",2656757,"title","Legislative Audit Committee approves audits into veteran-owned contracting goal and Colorado Energy Office finances","audioSeconds",368,"startMs",3593000,"endMs",3961000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2656757-a6e8b7e4cae475b0c37b34d1204090d2&start=3593&end=3961","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2656757-a6e8b7e4cae475b0c37b34d1204090d2/thumbnail_3593000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6277194/Colorado/Legislative-Audit-Committee-approves-audits-into-veteran-owned-contracting-goal-and-Colorado-Energy-Office-finances","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6277194-8f4b04b6882e14c343e80d353cad4b16/orig.mp4?Expires=1771001770&Signature=BZuA2UYXs-Tf59nVTbbBfkrBc9yiAszheYsjyk2tfmo77M2ddwgx-LltHb9ySUL6fjvQ~PJRpBvnloHacJ29HcIR7XDFm0WnNQP8kgDJ~EUd19k9tAeRkauwZM16Ku0NOdBEMly8GKDew4aArlVC2QEJT5eml4skZxfEahrIlp52dlTIuvElYb-P3ET6vbS3PJzpAfcuupoHjfvXx64CPr3g4PTG4~0-82M5p58cy4674Ac~CO4SETyRPaFYw1LhbhdyDSsU89egKNzVgbKTm8pgPeVCrNgN4DdW23vBa6i32N3srydFJ4v1QzyAqvt0e4aV83VISyhUd3gDpb9mQw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Colorado State Legislature","date","2025-03-12T00:00:00Z","article","The Legislative Audit Committee approved two audit research requests during the hearing: a performance audit into the state's implementation of its 3% contracting goal for service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses (SDVOSB) and preliminary research into the Colorado Energy Office's financial management and program execution.

Auditor staff presented a memo responding to Representative Marshall's request for a performance audit on SDVOSB contracting. The memo, summarized by staff member Miss Collin, said the state has awarded less than 1% of contracts by dollar value to service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses since fiscal year 2021. The proposed audit would review trends in bid and award data, Department of Personnel and Administration processes for implementing the goal, agency procurement practices, outreach to potentially eligible businesses, and best practices from the federal program and other states.

\"The audit would look at what progress the state has made toward achieving its goal and what barriers exist,\" Miss Collin said, outlining potential audit questions and noting Representative Marshall had reviewed and approved the research scope.

Representative Brooks moved to approve the evaluation request; the motion was seconded and, with no opposition recorded, the committee approved the audit research.

The committee also approved a research request from Senator Pelton to evaluate the Colorado Energy Office's financial management, staffing levels, and program execution. Senator Pelton told members he wants clarity on where cash funds and appropriations are being directed and how the office is tracking those resources. The vice chair moved approval; no objections were recorded and the research was approved.

Committee members and auditors noted that if the audits move forward, staff will perform planning to refine the scope and methodology. The approved requests will be added to the audit office's work plan for preliminary research and potential performance audit work.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Legislative Audit Committee Hearing [Mar 12, 2025]","oneSentenceSummary","The committee approved preliminary research to audit why Colorado is falling short of a 3% contracting goal for service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses and approved preliminary research into the Colorado Energy Office’s financial management and program execution.","taxTitle","Legislative Audit Committee, YEAR-ROUND COMMITTEES, Committees, Legislative, Colorado","taxId",25598,"location","Colorado","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":77,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":78,"_41":79,"_43":80,"_45":81,"_47":82,"_49":83,"_51":84,"_53":85,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":86,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":87,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6277198,"Audit finds Colorado Department of Higher Education had material weaknesses, late filings and reporting errors",487,2368000,2855000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2656757-a6e8b7e4cae475b0c37b34d1204090d2&start=2368&end=2855","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2656757-a6e8b7e4cae475b0c37b34d1204090d2/thumbnail_2368000.jpg","/articles/6277198/Colorado/Audit-finds-Colorado-Department-of-Higher-Education-had-material-weaknesses-late-filings-and-reporting-errors","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6277198-53df588211caed0b8e3a1a95ee45f86c/orig.mp4?Expires=1771001770&Signature=fyXkS6wqBpSMX9zfId0DGb3tmqu1Z5xR2x6abCRSnszSfPB8erk0Eg3h50V~9kON5~bbvHEUA5Xz8-KEnopW~qEKA2fZU0a-UWgnAO7nmkp1KOIO8cmkVDrFZITlJcBKtaOp2H7qZ0t8e9djvIUnKRL4KaejroR~Zz54FZPG0E0a4-fAQFQ4KotsXHI9Btd9Sxkid1-kWWQFHk-x~OO7SJsjz0XU53qzhJNizoT3R8jRUD~R3gOavZ-Q0VnAaD3bZbmcmGpaA9OYkUKMnkMzbmcM-CjuMaVPUcc6GAlS6AXKu3bLHKlSu4OJpegc9SIOHgnKe23ITJ6tgPG6jLb35w__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Auditors presented a material weakness finding for the Colorado Department of Higher Education to the Legislative Audit Committee, citing untimely responses to information requests, late accounting entries, misreported exhibit data, inaccuracies in federal revenue recording, and missing quarterly reports.

Rhiannon Ferguson, a senior audit supervisor with the Office of the State Auditor, told the committee the department failed to provide requested documentation in a timely manner — in many cases not producing records until January 2025, seven to nine months after requests. Ferguson said auditors found about $7,000,000 in core expenditures that did not match transaction documentation.

The auditors found roughly $241,000,000 in late entries recorded in the state's accounting system after the Office of the State Controller's August statutory close deadline. The department also submitted required exhibits late and with errors; Exhibit K-1, used to report federal expenditures, was submitted 10 days late and misreported expenditures by $2,000,000 until corrected with OSC assistance.

Auditors reported the department recorded about $4,700,000 more in federal revenues in core for Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds than appropriate and initially failed to record $2,500,000 in TABOR revenue that it later corrected after notification. The audit also found the department did not submit any of its four statutorily required quarterly financial reports to the Office of the State Controller in fiscal year 2024.

\"These ongoing problems demonstrate that the department has not implemented our prior recommendations,\" Ferguson said, adding that turnover in the department's accounting section contributed to lost institutional knowledge and errors.

Dr. Angie Paccione, executive director of the Department of Higher Education, told the committee the department accepts the report and takes responsibility for the findings. She said the department had significant turnover — four CFOs in six years — and engaged KPMG to assess and help restructure the budget and finance division. Zack Hartaya, the department's chief financial officer who said he was on his eighth day in the role, described immediate steps to strengthen internal controls, perform a staffing assessment, and improve recordkeeping and accountability.

The auditors recommended the department analyze and improve internal controls, develop and implement policies and procedures for timely and accurate submission to the OSC and the Office of the State Auditor, and train staff across accounting functions to maintain controls despite turnover. Department leadership said they are working with external consultants and have begun personnel and process changes.","Auditors found the Department of Higher Education failed to provide timely audit documentation, made late accounting entries, misreported exhibits and federal revenues, and did not submit statutorily required quarterly reports; the department accepted the findings and is pursuing corrective action.",{"_33":89,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":90,"_41":91,"_43":92,"_45":93,"_47":94,"_49":95,"_51":96,"_53":97,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":98,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":99,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6277202,"Audit finds Office of the State Controller failed to ensure timely financial reporting; material weakness cited",548,1584000,2132000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2656757-a6e8b7e4cae475b0c37b34d1204090d2&start=1584&end=2132","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2656757-a6e8b7e4cae475b0c37b34d1204090d2/thumbnail_1584000.jpg","/articles/6277202/Colorado/Audit-finds-Office-of-the-State-Controller-failed-to-ensure-timely-financial-reporting-material-weakness-cited","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6277202-595db91afae01946e7125f099e7ecc86/orig.mp4?Expires=1771001770&Signature=JE1UJ9pabRxwbZXX7eM-5QAMIFReVpgPc-EBT58tCUSEQXPCsLjH4w12CckFSQM5~CdrLkO8Me0RSbwl5xgib~dWst05GWdqdB27leva-iPYgfWkNulY~4bPg3glNtBgT2~hvVObJ3iGi8dtftPQRm0tO4XtiGWH1sWAK3QTTIGfUM8if-uA41YZyHldasmFjNkS6mXC7eCHFyK0lFHyuBobmvDFnw~Bhoge~ocgNXs09x5826m5rw8kORkJobbZSO64EU9VK2djF4-wn48zpwAjaj0uSSU7sO8lt1Zhp5KLkt-kWNEHpe8gyVvZmhi~f3vEA5InofPY3X713yP~WA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Auditors told the Legislative Audit Committee that the Office of the State Controller (OSC) did not ensure timely financial reporting or comply with statutory timeframes, and they classified the finding as a material weakness.

Crystal Dorsey, a financial audit manager with the Office of the State Auditor, presented the OSC finding and described four core problems: late transaction entries, entities failing to correct accounting discrepancies on time, incomplete IT controls for the state's Gravity system, and insufficient monitoring of entity compliance with statutory deadlines.

\"Transactions were entered in core after the required deadlines,\" Dorsey said, pointing to a table in the report that showed 98 transactions totaling $1,100,000,000 were recorded in period 16 — after the September deadline for submitting financial statements to the governor and the general assembly. Auditors also reported over $34,800,000 in fund transfers that statute required be entered in the state's accounting system before June 30 were recorded late.

The auditors said the OSC had not developed an effective process to ensure state entities corrected accounting deficiencies in a timely manner and that the Gravity system's IT policy did not fully meet Office of Information Technology security requirements. Auditors reported training and open-house sessions intended to help newer controllers were poorly attended and had not reduced late or incorrect accounting entries.

\"Strong, effective internal controls are critical in order to ensure timely and accurate financial reporting,\" Dorsey told the committee. The report recommends the OSC establish a corrective-action process to communicate accounting deficiencies to entity controllers and senior management, strengthen training, implement tracking for statutorily required transfers, improve quarterly reporting processes, and enhance Gravity's IT policies and procedures.

State Controller Bob Jaros told the committee the OSC agrees with the auditors' recommendations and described steps the agency will take. \"We will start doing that, in terms of the timeliness,\" Jaros said, adding the OSC will work with Treasury on transfers and improve quarterly reporting and Gravity policies.

Auditors said the late and incorrect accounting entries led to accounting adjustments after the September 20 deadline and delayed parts of the statewide audit, and they advised the OSC to track and monitor corrections to ensure timely financial reporting going forward.","Auditors told the Legislative Audit Committee the Office of the State Controller did not ensure timely recording of transactions, failed to enforce statutory deadlines, and lacked some IT controls, resulting in a material weakness in internal controls over financial reporting.",{"_33":101,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":102,"_41":103,"_43":104,"_45":105,"_47":106,"_49":107,"_51":108,"_53":109,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":110,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":111,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6277206,"Legislative Audit Committee releases Colorado statewide single audit for fiscal 2024",38,103000,141000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2656757-a6e8b7e4cae475b0c37b34d1204090d2&start=103&end=141","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2656757-a6e8b7e4cae475b0c37b34d1204090d2/thumbnail_103000.jpg","/articles/6277206/Colorado/Legislative-Audit-Committee-releases-Colorado-statewide-single-audit-for-fiscal-2024","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6277206-e872c25f07834e9fdabd96f5f0f4d992/orig.mp4?Expires=1771001770&Signature=gyhF8oNd8l3QB7NeHkp3zm30eGSQ-LwDd52p2GJzMX3~VLV8Ft6QPsE2gk55f7SV7gPCqLKPKHVADlD0mzSIp7ZiLhsu-Ui~Q93U0CkwENtDLIvSdUmRCCbraY-caRh8C6FST~Bjym68MOYleNY6FMjNQzGgHNnBm2DPPCmhX0SwVntODxaRdi29-t1x3tHRSkbz7eeNUx82B~QB2L1Q7AMY2QsU5mWEC9yHMS9iMHLDyw3lf-HgJw1A68JCpbBdo9Bsig1IBfTjWcv9C3bzPstc~dkWpqsUtQbbgaw9iTz2x5omL9wf-fXuWEAB65cAiSyeJ0CC8bRakA1yLCO2Xg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The Legislative Audit Committee voted to release the state of Colorado's statewide single audit and annual comprehensive financial report for the fiscal year ended June 2024.

The audit office presented the reports to the committee and summarized the work that produced a clean (unmodified) opinion on the state's financial statements. Marissa Edwards, deputy state auditor, told the panel the statewide audit covers the state's compliance with federal grant requirements and departments' progress implementing prior audit recommendations.

The statewide single audit reviewed about $65,000,000,000 in state assets, $51,000,000,000 in state expenses, and $21,000,000,000 in federal expenditures, the auditors said. The audit team included more than 30 staff members from the Office of the State Auditor and oversight of work by nine contract audit firms. The report contains 31 recommendations across financial statement and federal program findings; auditors also said there are 12 IT findings handled confidentially.

“This includes the results of our audit work and reports on the state's compliance with various statutory and federal grant requirements,” Deputy State Auditor Marissa Edwards said as she introduced the reports and the audit teams.

State Controller Bob Jaros briefed the committee on the annual comprehensive financial report, noting the state received a Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting for the previous year and explaining the financial statements and required supplementary information. Jaros reported the state's total net position for the primary government was $28,400,000,000 in fiscal year 2024, an increase of $4,800,000,000 from the prior year, and that general fund balances and revenues also rose during the year.

Auditors said the statewide single audit performs three primary functions: (1) confirm the financial statements are fairly stated, (2) evaluate internal controls over financial reporting at the department and state level, and (3) test compliance with federal award requirements. The report separates financial statement findings from federal program findings and lists major federal programs audited in detail.

The committee released the reports and auditors said they will return for further hearings that focus on the more significant findings and recommendations. Auditor staff told members the audit process is ongoing and that follow-up on prior recommendations and the fiscal 2025 audit work will continue to track implementation.

The Legislative Audit Committee scheduled its next hearing for March 26 and indicated it will include follow-up on significant items identified in the FY 2024 statewide single audit.","The Legislative Audit Committee voted to release the statewide single audit and annual comprehensive financial report for the fiscal year ended June 2024, receiving an overall clean opinion on the state's financial statements and noting multiple material weaknesses and recommendations for state agencies.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Legislative Audit Committee approves audits into veteran-owned contracting goal and Colorado Energy Office finances

Audit finds Colorado Department of Higher Education had material weaknesses, late filings and reporting errors

Audit finds Office of the State Controller failed to ensure timely financial reporting; material weakness cited

Legislative Audit Committee releases Colorado statewide single audit for fiscal 2024