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CFAOC adopts CIRMindependent audit, auditors report clean opinion
Summary
The Citizens Financial Accountability Oversight Committee unanimously adopted the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine(CIRM) independent financial audit for the year ended June 30, 2023; auditors reported an unmodified (clean) opinion and no material weaknesses or findings of noncompliance.
The Citizens Financial Accountability Oversight Committee, chaired by State Controller Malia Cohen, voted unanimously on Dec. 18 to adopt the independent financial audit of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) for the year ended June 30, 2023. Macias Gini & O'Connell (MGO) engagement partner Craig Carter presented the audit and said the firm issued an unmodified, or "clean," opinion on March 18, 2024, and found no material weaknesses or reportable noncompliance.
The audit covered the financial statements and required supplementary information, along with an audit of internal control and compliance under government auditing standards. Carter described the audit as risk-based and said the firm obtained sufficient evidence to support its opinion. He explained that management is responsible for the financial statements and internal controls and that auditors review the work and supporting documentation but do not provide absolute assurance.
State ControllerOffice Audit Division Chief Kimberly Tarvin reported on the Controller's Office quality control review of MGO's work, which the Controller's Office completed in October 2024. Tarvin told the committee that the quality control review concluded MGO conducted the engagement in accordance with applicable professional auditing standards and California business-and-professions requirements. She said the Controller's Office is working to accelerate its review timeline and improve report presentation to deliver findings earlier in the annual oversight cycle.
During questions, auditors explained that CIRM's grant payments are milestone-based, which can create timing differences between budgeted and actual expenditures; auditors said related-party transactions noted in the report are largely interagency state transactions and were disclosed in the financial statements. Committee members asked about communication between auditors and the Independent Citizens Oversight Committee; Carter said the relationship has been cooperative.
The committee made a motion to adopt the audit and took a roll-call vote; the motion passed unanimously. No public comment was recorded during the vote. The committee recorded the adoption as an official action and moved on to a strategic-plan update from CIRM leadership.
