Legislative auditors in Wisconsin find that nearly $900M of WisDOT funds were miscalculated

A financial audit of Wisconsin state government accounting found issues with nearly $900 million in alterations made to Department of Transportation assumptions, issues with the documentation of interest earned on federal funds and found that the state’s Department of Administration has not properly followed guidance on properly monitoring information technology security across state government.

The leaders of the state’s Legislative Audit Bureau – Sen. Eric Wimberger, R-Oconto, and Rep. Robert Wittke, R-Caledonia - released the audit while pointing to Gov. Tony Evers using his veto power to remove four additional auditors from the most recent state budget.

“The Wisconsin DOT made a nearly $1 billion mistake, and it was only caught because of the oversight by legislative auditors,” Wimberger and Wittke said in a statement. “This highlights the critical oversight role that the Legislature provides for the people of Wisconsin, and once again proves how short-sighted Governor Evers’ veto of four new auditor positions was.”

The audit also pointed out that a new University of Wisconsin enterprise resource planning system has a potential to lead to future financial reporting delays.

“State agencies must be good stewards of taxpayer dollars, and providing accurate and complete financial statements is a major part in good governance,” the leaders said in a statement. “We understand that mistakes happen, but the same mistakes happening year after year raises significant concerns. We look forward to following up with agency leaders to ensure their full compliance with state law.”

In all, Wisconsin earned $185.5 million in interest from the federal coronavirus recovery funds sent to the state for distribution and the state is allowed to spend those funds as it chooses but the funds need to be credited to the state’s general fund.

Wimberger has been outspoken over the past year over the interest funds, saying they need to be appropriately added to the state’s general fund and not be held by Evers or the Department of Administration.