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Regents hear peer-comparison of internal audit staffing; several smaller offices plan phased transitions
Summary
An internal-audit panel told the Fiscal Affairs & Audit Committee that audit staffing varies among Kansas public institutions; several smaller audit shops plan phased retirements, graduate-assistant support, or outsourcing options to maintain coverage.
Pittsburg, Kan. — Chief audit executives from multiple state institutions presented comparative data on April 16 showing wide variation in internal-audit staffing across Kansas public institutions and peers, and outlined transition plans to address anticipated departures.
Amy Lee, Jamie Dalton and other audit leaders presented three views of staffing: raw audit headcount, ratio of institutional full-time employees to auditors, and students-to-auditors. The packet compared each KBOR institution to its peer and aspirational peers and noted that four of six institutions have 1.5 full-time-equivalent auditors or fewer.
Why it matters: Internal audit capacity affects institutional ability to identify compliance, operational and financial risk. Presenters reminded the committee that professional standards require chief audit executives to manage resources and report on the adequacy of staffing to leadership and audit committees.
Several institutions described transition plans. One auditor said the office uses graduate assistants to provide capacity and plans phased retirement to overlap a successor. Another (Wichita) said the plan is to hire a replacement director by the end of FY26 and add a senior auditor to restore the office to two auditors. Multiple speakers noted options such as co-sourcing or outsourcing specific projects and closer collaboration among regional institutions to share audit resources.
Committee members asked whether outsourcing external audit work is common; presenters replied that external financial-statement audits remain separate and are typical, while outsourcing internal-audit functions varies and may make sense near certain size thresholds. One regional institution said it considered outsourcing and estimated a threshold near 1,000 employees as the inflection point for cost-effectiveness.
No formal action was taken; committee members welcomed the comparative data and asked auditors and staff to continue evaluating redundancy, cross-training and potential shared services.
