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State Auditor presses for comp-and-class study as late audits and vacancy rates rise
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Summary
The State Auditor told lawmakers late audits rose from 57 to 75 and the office faces a 24% vacancy rate; the office asked for $940,007 increase including $750,000 for a comp-and-class study focused on audit positions and $65,000 for internship expansion to rebuild the CPA pipeline.
State Auditor (introduced staff including new deputy Donna Montoya Trujillo and policy director David Pena) told the committee that the office needs additional recurring resources to raise salaries for audit positions and to expand capacity. The FY27 request was roughly $940,007 and centered on personnel increases intended to bring auditor pay toward midpoint and to fund recruitment/retention efforts.
The auditor highlighted a sharp rise in late audits—from 57 in FY24 to 75 in FY25—and cited industry-wide CPA shortages and retirement issues as root causes. The office is planning targeted interventions: a $65,000 expansion of an internship program to build the accounting pipeline, and a proposed $750,000 comprehensive comp-and-class study focused on audit positions that were excluded from the SPO/Deloitte work.
Auditor staff said they will continue modernizing the OSA Connect platform and are piloting AI to automate repetitive audit-report review tasks; they indicated a vacancy rate of about 24% overall and even higher in financial audit sections. Committee members asked for a revised estimate for the comp study and urged the auditor to work with LFC and SPO to reduce study costs or to consider re-engaging Deloitte for an add-on rather than a full new national procurement.
The auditor also flagged impacts of delayed federal single-audit guidance from OMB and said 43 agencies will separate federal single audits from annual statements this cycle, potentially delaying reports used for December revenue estimates.
