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Department of Finance requests $13.9M for FY2026, cites audits, staffing and systems upgrades
Summary
Department of Finance leaders asked the legislature for a $13.918 million FY2026 budget and outlined staffing shortages, audit catch‑up work and IT upgrades (Tyler time & attendance, GASB implementation) they say are needed to improve revenue reporting, payroll and vendor payments.
The U.S. Virgin Islands Department of Finance asked the legislature on June 10 for a $13,918,102 operating appropriation for fiscal year 2026 and described ongoing work to modernize systems and to catch up on audits and reconciliations. Executive Assistant Commissioner Clarena Modis Elliott presented the request to the Committee on Budget, Appropriations and Finance, saying the department aims for “sound financial stewardship, transparency, and service to the people of our territory.”
Department leaders told senators the agency now has 50 full‑time staff — 38 on St. Thomas and 12 on St. Croix — and four active vacancies they expect to fill by month’s end. Modis Elliott said the accounting team, with three analysts, processed more than 50,000 transactions this fiscal year, including vendor payments and allotments that total “approximately 900,000,000” year‑to‑date.
The department listed several initiatives it said are necessary to reduce operational risk: a territorywide rollout of Tyler Technologies’ time and attendance system (five agencies live so far), upgraded servers and operating systems for cybersecurity, a desk audit of compensation, and an employee training program. The testimony also cited an outside contractor engaged to centralize fund‑balance transaction records and better align the general ledger with Treasury posting.
Deputy Commissioner Wilfredo Guzman told senators the proposed jump in “other services and charges” reflected reporting changes and a duplication that staff will correct. Guzman also said the department plans to solicit a vendor to help implement GASB 87 and GASB 96 accounting requirements and requested funding for that work.
On audits and reconciliations, the department said its most recent completed audit is for FY2021, with drafts and field work ongoing for subsequent years. Modis Elliott told the committee the department aims to be “fully caught up with all outstanding audits by June 2026” and to implement corrective action plans to address findings.
Budget breakdown presented by the department included a general fund request of $13,809,602 and $108,500 from indirect cost funds. Personnel costs total $5,078,841 (50 positions) with fringe at $1,526,271; other services and charges were listed at $7,970,667 (the department said a FY2025 miscellaneous line was merged into that category).
Modis Elliott and Deputy Commissioner Guzman also answered senators’ questions about vendor payments and accounts‑payable aging; the department reported roughly $67 million in outstanding AP, with amounts across aging buckets. They said late agency invoice entry and decentralized fiscal operations have been drivers of payment delays and described a CFO‑centralization process intended to improve agency timeliness.
The department said it is working with Ernst & Young, Tyler/Munis and banking partners to automate reconciliations and strengthen cash flow reporting, and it requested the committee’s continued support for the FY2026 appropriation so the agency can keep making system and staffing improvements.
