Legislative auditors tell JFAC many findings are new but some long-standing problems persist

April Renfro, Legislative Auditor, Legislative Services Office, told the Joint Finance and Appropriation Committee at its Jan. 7 meeting that the office is stepping up transparency and follow-up on audit findings and that most uncorrected findings are recent, but some older items remain open.

Renfro, who said the audit division has 30 financial and IT auditor positions and one administrative assistant, described the office's scope: annual audit of the state's comprehensive financial report (ACFR), the single audit of federal award expenditures, recurring accountability (management review) reports of agencies and special agreed-upon procedures. She said the ACFR audit is typically due Dec. 31 and the single audit is due March 31.

Why it matters: audit findings feed directly into budgeting and agency oversight. Renfro said uncorrected findings are flagged in an annual report that helps legislators identify agencies with open problems when they consider appropriations.

Renfro said 70% of the uncorrected findings in the office's new report are from the current reporting period and therefore represent items for which follow-up testing has not yet been completed; the remaining 30% reflect problems the agency has been unable to correct in a reasonable time. "Seventy percent of our uncorrected findings are from…