“It is past time for Oklahoma to get its financial house in order.”

Oklahoma State Auditor & Inspector (SAI) Cindy Byrd today released the Federal Single Audit of expenditures made during FY 2023. This annual audit is a federally-mandated examination of whether the State of Oklahoma spent federal grant money in compliance with federal regulations.

The audit report covers more than $14.9 Billion of expenditures which are audited through a formula provided by the federal government.

“For the last three years, I have been sounding the alarm that Oklahoma state government is mired in a culture of financial mismanagement,” Auditor Byrd said. “Over the last three years, the problems have gotten progressively worse. The amount of money Oklahomans could be forced to repay to the federal government is concerning.”

This year’s audit found a record number of questioned costs totaling $93.4 Million. Questioned costs are any expenditures that do not comply with the law, cannot be documented, and/or appear unreasonable or unethical. The combined questioned costs from the last three Federal Single Audits stands at more than $186 Million.

“Every taxpayer in Oklahoma needs to understand what this means,” said Auditor Byrd. “If this mismanagement continues, our federal taxes will go up, our state taxes will go up, and government services will plummet. The federal government can, and most likely will, demand millions of dollars back from the State of Oklahoma.”

The latest audit reveals particular problems at the Office of Management and Enterprise Services (OMES) and at the Department of Human Services (DHS).

• OMES mismanaged more than $21.8 Million in grant money earmarked to provide rental assistance to Oklahomans during the pandemic. As a result, an estimated 7,659 Oklahomans could have received rental assistance but were denied.

• DHS failed to put proper guardrails on expenditures for more than $63.6 Million in federal grant money. This was for programs intended to expand childcare access, and welfare benefits.

“Government exists to provide services to its citizens,” Auditor Byrd said. “Politicians can argue over which services the government should provide. But everyone can agree that fraud, waste, and abuse is unacceptable. It is past time for Oklahoma to get its financial house in order.”

The full FY 2023 Federal Single Audit is now posted here on the Oklahoma State Auditor & Inspector’s official website:  www.sai.ok.gov.