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Auditor General explains legal limits and request process for state audits
Summary
Committee members sought clarity on what the Auditor General can audit, how audits are initiated, and the office’s use of risk-based approaches; DeFoor described statutory limits and said audits may be requested by legislators, the governor, the public or other sources.
Representative Mustella and others asked the Auditor General to describe the office’s legal authority and how audit requests are initiated. Auditor General Timothy DeFoor said the office audits where state funds are used and can audit federal funds only when they pass through the state treasury. "We audit state funds and also federal funds that go through the treasure's office," DeFoor said, adding that funds coming directly from the federal government to a state department or other entity are generally outside his office’s audit authority.
DeFoor described several routes for audit requests: a legislator, the governor, the administration, the public, or follow-up work based on prior audits. He stressed a legal and practical screening before accepting a request, saying auditors must determine whether the office is legally authorized and has the manpower to conduct a proposed audit. "When that happens, the first thing that we do is we have to determine, 1, can we perform the audit? Because there are some limitations on what we can do," he said.
Members asked whether the office could audit multi-agency initiatives or specific programs across several departments (for example, workforce-development line items that appear across many agencies). DeFoor said such cross-agency audits are possible, but the office must evaluate legal authority and resource availability; timelines vary widely—from about eight months to 18 months depending on scope.
On election audits, DeFoor said the idea merits conversation but that statutory changes might be required to free resources or reassign statutory duties; he invited members to discuss potential shifting of audit responsibilities. He also described an increasing use of risk-based audit selection and ‘‘limited procedure engagements’’ to focus staff on higher-risk work as transition steps amid staffing constraints.
The committee also discussed the CPA pipeline and how credentialing changes in other states could affect recruitment; DeFoor said the office has an intern-to-hire program and is recruiting at state-related and community colleges and HBCUs to expand the applicant pool.
