Former Oklahoma State Auditor Outlines Process Ahead Of TPS Audit

Because the state will get able to audit Tulsa Public Faculties, former state auditor Gary Jones defined what the method will seem like.   

The state auditor’s workplace stated it could be inappropriate to remark throughout an ongoing investigation, so Information On 6 spoke with Oklahoma’s earlier state auditor to be taught extra in regards to the course of. Jones served because the State Auditor whereas Mary Fallin was governor from 2011 to 2019. He stated getting an audit request immediately from the governor doesn’t occur typically. 

“Audited the Grand River Dam Authority, the Indian Cultural Heart, issues like that, so we did obtain a handful of them however not fairly often,” Jones stated. 

 Audit requests also can come from a district lawyer, head of an company, a citizen petition, or a joint request from the legislature. 

 Jones stated step one, on this case, will likely be for the auditor’s workplace to sit down down with the governor and outline precisely what the scope of the audit will likely be, then estimate how a lot money and time it can take to get the work completed. 

Subsequent, the auditor’s workplace will interview TPS workers, and collect as a lot data as it could possibly. Jones stated the timeframe for an audit might be wide-ranging. 

“The Epic audit took 10-12 months. A variety of it has to do with how a lot you are , and the way a lot cooperation you get from the people. We have had audits we have gone out and in in a number of weeks, we have had others which have taken upwards of a yr,” Jones stated.  

Jones stated it’s too quickly to know the way a lot the TPS audit will value, however the district must pay for it, which implies taxpayer {dollars} will in the end pay for the work. 

“It could possibly be $30,000. It could possibly be $150,000 – $200,000. All is dependent upon the scope of the audit,” Jones stated. 

The governor is predicted to fulfill with the auditor’s workplace within the coming weeks. Jones stated the auditor’s workplace will do someplace between 300 and 400 audits a yr.