AlaskanAssassin
Well-Known Member
I read today that Tim Walz will no longer be seeking re-election. I haven't been closely following the fraud allegations in MN (aside from headlines). However, you know it must be bad if he's suspending his re-election campaign. This prompted me to do a little research into Minnesota's annual financial and compliance report (available online at Federal Audit Clearinghouse). I've mentioned on this site before that I conduct audits of federal spending through my CPA firm (mostly Native American governments), so this stuff really interests me.
Here's a brief summary of Minnesota's 2024 audit report:
- $20.1 billion of total federally funded spending for the year
- 18 total grants (funding sources) were selected for audit by the auditors (they don't audit everything)
-29 total findings (very high number - and mostly involving Human Services). I've personally never seen an audit report with more than 20 (although I'm sure plenty exist)
-They issued modified opinions on many of the grants (essentially saying these grants are severely breaking the rules and not adhering to federal guidelines)
-Findings reported include massive questioned costs, not verifying if vendors are federally debarred, not reporting back to the federal agency regarding spending and compliance, nearly $10 million of costs reported incorrectly related to child care, not monitoring organizations they pass money to (daycare centers), lack of documentation verifying that people and organizations receiving funds met eligibility requirements, etc.)
This is an absolutely terrible audit report, and anyone who understands how to read these would understand that there is clearly a massive lack of controls around how the state is administering its federal funding.
What is strange to me is that it takes a viral video to get the media and general public to show an interest in this, when it's painfully obvious that this state is not utilizing federal resources well. I wish the media would better report on these types of audit results to inform the public on how its tax dollars are being spent.
Here's a brief summary of Minnesota's 2024 audit report:
- $20.1 billion of total federally funded spending for the year
- 18 total grants (funding sources) were selected for audit by the auditors (they don't audit everything)
-29 total findings (very high number - and mostly involving Human Services). I've personally never seen an audit report with more than 20 (although I'm sure plenty exist)
-They issued modified opinions on many of the grants (essentially saying these grants are severely breaking the rules and not adhering to federal guidelines)
-Findings reported include massive questioned costs, not verifying if vendors are federally debarred, not reporting back to the federal agency regarding spending and compliance, nearly $10 million of costs reported incorrectly related to child care, not monitoring organizations they pass money to (daycare centers), lack of documentation verifying that people and organizations receiving funds met eligibility requirements, etc.)
This is an absolutely terrible audit report, and anyone who understands how to read these would understand that there is clearly a massive lack of controls around how the state is administering its federal funding.
What is strange to me is that it takes a viral video to get the media and general public to show an interest in this, when it's painfully obvious that this state is not utilizing federal resources well. I wish the media would better report on these types of audit results to inform the public on how its tax dollars are being spent.
