State auditor seeks pay adjustments, privacy‑oversight staffing amid audit-timeliness concerns

Utah State Auditor Tina Cannon told the General Government Appropriation Subcommittee on Feb. 3 that shortages of certified public accountants and experienced auditors are delaying statutorily required financial reports and stretching the office’s ability to perform financial audit, special investigations and the Transparent Utah program.

The nut graf: Cannon said the auditor’s office is under-staffed for the technical CPA work that state and local financial oversight require; the office requests targeted salary adjustments to match market offers, plus additional staff to implement statutory privacy‑oversight responsibilities that take effect this May.

Cannon said the auditor’s office is required to issue the annual Comprehensive Financial Report (ACFR) within 180 days; in the prior year the office reached 175 days and has had to reassign CPA staff from local-government audit and investigations to meet that deadline, producing delays in other oversight work. She said the office is down roughly one-third from its historical audit staffing peak and has had trouble matching private‑sector offers for CPA candidates.

Her budget request breaks the proposal into general-fund and dedicated-credit components: Cannon asked for roughly $831,000 general fund (plus 9 FTE equivalents listed in materials) and about $554,000 in dedicated credits for state-auditor staff, along with one‑time funding to allow current offers to candidates to be matched so new hires start at market-competitive pay. She also requested funding for up to three full-time equivalents to support the new state privacy oversight duties that will expand the office’s training, risk classification and compliance-monitoring work for more than 1,100 local government entities.

Cannon described Transparent Utah (transparent.utah.gov) as an award‑winning public tool the office runs to publish and allow analysis of public financial data; she said that work requires data scientists in addition to auditors. She added that privacy oversight will require training and follow-up with more than 1,100 governmental entities and that the office already has trained thousands of employees in 2024.

Senator Stevenson, who introduced a related RFA, and several committee members emphasized the risk of missing the 180‑day deadline and the broader consequences for state financial reporting and bond rating. Senator Stevenson said the request would adjust entry-level salaries by about 20 percent and make larger adjustments for mid- and senior-level auditors to reduce vacancies and increase retention; he said funding sources could include dedicated credits and auditor charges to higher education and local governments.

Cannon and staff said the proposed salary changes would be targeted toward audit staff (CPAs and financial auditors) and noted that outside contracting for local audits has seen higher bids as well. She said new hires are currently receiving offers that are about 20% above the auditor office’s posted rates and that one‑time funds for FY2025 would allow the office to equalize pay for incoming staff. Cannon said the privacy office will need three additional positions to carry out oversight beginning in May.

Ending: Lawmakers asked clarifying questions about pay compression, recruiting and how Transparent Utah and privacy oversight work together; Cannon said the office will return with detailed budget worksheets and thanked the committee for consideration.