NEWS RELEASE

Who's Watching the Watchdog?

Rebecca Otto audits the State Auditor; says report on Counties contains dozens of accounting errors

Announcement follows days after

Otto found $12 million education error
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Wednesday, April 12, 2006

Saint Paul, MN -- An official report on county finances issued March 2 by State Auditor Patricia Anderson contains financial errors, says State Auditor candidate Rebecca Otto.

Otto’s statement follows closely on the heels of her announcement on April 6 that there was a $12 million error in MN Dept of Education financial reporting of school district revenues. That report has since been amended due to Otto’s discovery.

The State Auditor’s web site says the office serves to ensure financial integrity, accountability, and cost-effectiveness of Minnesota's local governmental entities, including counties and school districts.

In examining the State Auditor’s county report, Otto says, she noticed that Table 9, a listing of changes in county reserve fund balances, listed incorrect percentages over 80% of the time.

Otto said this error is especially surprising because reserve fund balances is an area Anderson singled out to criticize local officials about in 2003.

Otto said she went back and checked the year 2000 version of the Table 9, prepared under former State Auditor Judi Dutcher, and found no errors in the percent changes.

Otto said that Table 9 isn’t the only portion of the report that is in error. “It’s just one example. Another one is in the 2005 and 2006 county budget summaries. The State Auditor has incorrectly added Norman county’s amended current expenses, and overstated them by $2,976.”

Otto, a former State Representative, said she is concerned because of the pattern of errors. “Whether it’s $2,976 or $12 million, finding these errors makes you wonder how many others there might be.”

And this, she said, poses a problem. “If policymakers can’t count on the numbers, they can’t make informed decisions. The public should be able to count on the integrity of the numbers that the State Auditor’s office is reporting without feeling like they have to double-check everything. That’s why we have a State Auditor.”

The question now, says Otto, is “who’s watching the watchdog?”

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The corrected Table 9 detailing the errors and comparing the 2004 Table 9 with the 2000 Table 9 is here (76k)
 

The original State Auditor’s official report "Minnesota County Finances 2004 Revenues, Expenditures, and Debt & 2005 and 2006 Summary Budgets" published on March 2 has been archived and can be downloaded from here (3.3 meg)