State Agency Performance Audits

Promoting Government Efficiency & Accountability

With the State of Ohio facing an unprecedented budget crisis in 2011, finding ways to make state government more efficient and effective was a high priority for policymakers.

Citing examples of increased efficiency and savings from the private sector and local governments, Auditor Yost urged the Ohio General Assembly to utilize performance audits within state agencies. Legislators passed Senate Bill 4, signed by Governor John Kasich on April 5, 2011, requiring performance audits of at least four state agencies every two years.

Auditor Yost volunteered the Auditor of State's office to undergo the first state agency performance audit. Completed in November 2011 by Plante & Moran, PLLC, the audit led to the restructuring of several departments and more than $1 million in savings to date.

The first four agencies to receive a performance audit by the Auditor of State's office were the Ohio Departments of Job and Family Services, Education, and Transportation, as well as the Ohio Housing Finance Agency.

An annual report is produced by the Ohio Performance Team to provide the General Assembly with a status update of state agency performance audits as required by Ohio Revised Code section 117.463. Download the report below:

 

“Performance audits provide a tool from outside the bureaucracy to do what the profit motive does for the private sector: to drive better, leaner performance based on objective measurements. Performance audits are a critical tool to intelligent cuts.”

State Agency Performance Audits

The first four agencies to receive a performance audit were the Ohio Departments of Job and Family Services, Education, and Transportation, as well as the Ohio Housing Finance Agency.