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Interim State Auditor requests one-time legal-fee funding and reports higher audit contract costs after auditor change
Summary
Interim State Auditor Sue Moss asked for $1 million in nonrecurring legal-fee funds, reported past legal expenses of $1,920,526.41, requested recurring funds for increased lease costs and IT needs, and said the state hired Mauldin & Jenkins as joint auditor at higher fees due to elevated audit risk.
Interim State Auditor Sue Moss told the Constitutional Subcommittee the Office of the State Auditor needs recurring and one-time funds to maintain operations and respond to elevated legal and audit costs.
Moss asked for $235,000 in recurring funds, saying about $150,000 of that is expected to cover a lease increase as the office prepares to move locations. She also requested $65,000 for shared technology services and $20,000 to acquire a SQL server to better manage large datasets for audits.
The auditor requested $1,000,000 in nonrecurring funds for legal fees and disclosed prior legal-fee spending of $1,920,526.41 to date related to an ongoing SEC investigation and other matters. "To date, it's 1,920,526 and 41¢," Moss said.
Moss explained why audit-contract fees increased: after using the same CPA firm for roughly 20 years, the office engaged a new joint auditor, Mauldin & Jenkins, and because the audit is now classified as higher risk (citing prior restatements), the new firm's fees rose to roughly the mid-six-hundreds of thousands per year.
Moss also requested $250,000 in nonrecurring move-in funds because the office expects to leave its current leased space at 1401 Main Street (the city did not renew the lease) and move to 1901 Main Street.
She asked to change proviso 105.8 to update carryforward authority (noting the change to fiscal-year notation 26.27) and said S253’s independent consultant recommended a legislative change to how the state auditor is appointed.
No formal committee action was taken; Moss offered to answer follow-up questions and thanked members for their time.
