SANTA FE, N.M. (KRQE) – Santa Fe says that the annual audit required by state law will once again be submitted late. But, the city says it won’t be as late as in the past.
Santa Fe has a history of submitting its audits late. For example, the city submitted the audit covering mid 2020 to mid 2021 earlier this year – in other words, more than a year late.
Now, the Audit covering city spending from July 1, 2022 to June 30, 2023, will also be late. The audit is due December 15, but the city expects it to be done in May of 2024 and notes that they’ve been working hard to catch up on past overdue audits.
“Typically, one audit takes eight months to complete. Completing three audits in eleven months is an extraordinary accomplishment and demonstrates the city’s deep commitment to correcting our history of late audits and ensuring the timelines are met moving forward, starting with FY2024,” City Manager John Blair said in a press release.
The city says that by filling staff positions and modernizing computer systems, next year’s audit should be more timely.
“Late audits have been a problem for the city for 13 out of the last 20 years, but the current team in the finance department is modernizing the city’s financial systems and processes in a way that going forward, late audits will be a thing of the past,” Finance Director Emily Oster said in a press release.
