California’s finance department plans to release details of its audit of the state’s special funds next week. The audit comes after 54-million dollars in surplus parks funds were discovered in separate accounts.
Published reports also suggest that state special funds in other departments could be off by as much as two-point-three billion dollars. The finance department called those numbers inaccurate and incomplete.
The discrepancy results from the difference in data given to the state controller’s office and the finance departments.
Republican Bill Emmerson, Vice-Chair of the Senate Budget Committee, said whatever the problem, more transparency is needed.
“I’m baffled by that to be very honest with you I think we need to have some hearings about how this process is working so we can eliminate this kind of a problem in the future,” commented Emmerson.
The finance department said almost 500-million dollars of the two-point-three billion in question is the result of differences in accounting methods.
The department expects its audit to show that if there are any discrepancies they would total well under two-point-three billion.
