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State auditor asks for $500,000 to study audit staffing and pay amid recruitment shortfall
Summary
State Auditor Joe Maestas requested $500,000 to fund a compensation and classification study to address recruitment and retention problems for auditors; the committee recorded a do-pass recommendation for House Bill 386 after discussion of workforce shortages and potential collaboration with higher education.
House Bill 386 would appropriate $500,000 to the Office of the State Auditor to commission a compensation and classification study focused on governmental audit and accounting positions. The committee gave the bill a do-pass recommendation.
State Auditor Joe Maestas told the committee the auditor’s office faces a workforce crisis: fewer CPAs and fewer public accounting firms available to audit New Mexico public entities. "We're seeing an alarming contraction in the form of fewer CPAs in the state of New Mexico," Maestas said, and he argued a targeted study would provide a baseline for addressing wage gaps and pipeline issues. Deputy auditor Ricky Bejarano told the committee the office's annual auditor salary is approximately $65,000 and the office has had little budget expansion in more than five years; vacancies remain elevated.
Members pressed the auditor on leveraging existing state compensation studies and coordination with the State Personnel Office. Maestas said his proposed study would benchmark auditor pay against both public- and private-sector comparators and gather private-firm wage data that state reports often omit. Representatives discussed recruiting pipelines, partnerships with higher education and nonmonetary retention tools such as paid study leave and telework; Maestas described internal steps the office has taken, including paid educational leave for CPA study and hybrid telework arrangements.
After discussion, the committee recorded a do-pass recommendation for HB 386. Sponsors and the auditor said the study results would be used to pursue targeted compensation and pipeline strategies, and they requested appropriators consider funding for implementation after the study produces data.
