DES MOINES — The Iowa Department of Education and Iowa Department of Revenue today released a statement in response to the Iowa State Auditor following its review of the state’s Annual Comprehensive Financial Report.
Any claims by the Iowa State Auditor that the Iowa Department of Education, the Iowa Department of Revenue, or any other state agency supporting the administration of the ESA program lack internal controls are completely unfounded and without merit. The Iowa Department of Education and the Iowa Department of Revenue have strict processes and procedures in place, resulting in a financially sound program, as the financial records in the Annual Comprehensive Financial Report (ACFR) will show.
The ACFR provides a broad perspective of the State of Iowa’s financial activity with a general overview of the condition of the State and audited financial statements. State statute requires the Iowa State Auditor to annually audit these financial statements. The Iowa State Auditor has authority to review the financial operations of the state; however, the Iowa State Auditor does not have the authority to use this process to make targeted programmatic requests, which is what the Iowa State Auditor has attempted to do.
The Iowa Department of Management and Iowa Department of Administrative Services signed a letter of engagement with the Iowa State Auditor with mutually agreed upon parameters prior to the 2024 financial audit. The Iowa State Auditor sought information beyond the agreed upon scope of the engagement letter.
Despite multiple responses informing the Iowa State Auditor’s office that targeted inquiries regarding the Students First Education Savings Account program operation were not within the scope of the ACFR and would require a separate letter of engagement for a performance audit to be filed, the Iowa State Auditor refused to do so. The Iowa State Auditor has attempted to use the critically important ACFR process in place of a performance audit.
According to the Generally Accepted Government Auditing Standards section 3.30, auditors must evaluate their own independence for bias, threats and self-interest risks. On December 28, 2022, the Iowa State Auditor stated, “vouchers are a path to ending public education.” On January 12, 2023, he stated Iowa’s supporters of school choice “want to skip checks and balances and avoid an actual cost assessment of vouchers.” Most recently, on April 12, 2024, he claimed “vouchers have 0 rules for how private schools spend your money.” The Iowa State Auditor, who is supposed to remain impartial and apolitical, has repeatedly made public statements revealing clear bias and a lack of objectivity toward the ESA program.
The Iowa Department of Education, the Iowa Department of Revenue, and all other state agencies make responsible stewardship of taxpayer funds their top priority. It is unfortunate that the Iowa State Auditor has wasted time and taxpayer money in an effort to target a program that is helping Iowa families exercise their statutory right to school choice.
Please see the letter the Director of the Iowa Department of Management sent to the Iowa State Auditor regarding concerns about the inappropriate use of the ACFR.