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The Texas State Auditor’s Office (SAO) is a state agency tasked with investigating financial improprieties, including accounting errors, fraud, and corruption in state institutions and state-funded programs.
Role of the State Auditor
The SAO fields a team of investigators and analysts, including fraud examiners, digital forensics examiners, and auditors. These staff perform a variety of different audits, including financial audits, compliance audits, efficiency audits, and effectiveness audits.
The SAO develops a yearly audit plan and publishes regular reports of its findings. During the 2020 fiscal year, the SAO released 45 reports. Topics included deferred maintenance projects at the Texas Facilities Commission, contracts at the Health and Human Services Commission, contracting at the University of Houston, and state-funded childcare services.
The Texas State Auditor’s Office also employs a professional development team that trains accountants and auditors of other government agencies. Course topics include audit, fraud, and various IT topics.
The agency operates at a cost of $21.8 million per year, according to the fiscal year 2022 budget.
History of the Texas State Auditor
Texas first created an auditor position in 1929. That official was appointed by the governor. During the 1930s state auditors were frequently fired or quit. In 1943, the Legislature amended the enabling legislation for the state auditor so that he would be appointed by a legislative committee instead.
Since then, the Auditor’s Office has been part of the legislative branch. Though it is considered an independent agency of government, it operates with oversight from the Legislative Audit Committee, a six-member standing committee of the Texas Legislature.
The Texas Government Code requires the the State Auditor to conduct its audits in accordance with generally accepted auditing standards as prescribed by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, the Governmental Accounting Standards Board, and the United States General Accounting Office.
Structure and Leadership
The state auditor is appointed by the Legislative Audit Committee, a six-member oversight committee that consists of the Speaker of the House, lieutenant governor, one member of the Senate appointed by the lieutenant governor, and the chairpersons of the Senate Finance Committee, House Appropriations Committee, and the House Ways and Means Committee.
The current acting State Auditor is Lisa Collier, the former First Assistant State Auditor, who has served in that role since January 2016. The most recent appointed auditor was John Keel, who retired in January 2016.
Address and Contact
- Office: 1501 N. Congress Ave, Austin, TX 78701
- Phone: (512) 936-9500
- Website: https://sao.texas.gov/
- Email: auditor@sao.texas.gov
