Make California more accountable.
It starts with the California State Auditor's Office (CSA),
the State's leading government accountability agency.
Turnover at CSA is out of control.
According to CSA data, 49 percent of its staff separated from the agency between 2016 and 2020. Looking at just those hired within that timeframe, the data shows that more than half of new hires leave within 4 years.
CSA reports its average, annual turnover rate is 15 percent. For comparison, a May 2018 Linkedin article highlights industries with the worst turnover rates. Technology, retail, and consumer products top the list with turnover rates around 13 percent, while turnover in government hovers around 11 percent.
140 employees left CSA between 2016 and 2020. Its annual staffing levels are around 170.
CSA’s failure to retain employees means the agency must recruit, hire, and train new people each year. It also loses the knowledge and experience separating employees gained in their time with the agency. This can negatively impact the depth of CSA’s research into policy questions the Legislature wants answered. It may reduce assurance that experienced staff are assigned to the State’s financial audit, which drives California’s credit rating.
Turnover costs taxpayers money.
LinkedIn has identified 121 expenses that can be evaluated through an employee turnover audit. However, CSA does not track or monitor these expenses, and it refuses to be transparent with the public about those costs.
From 2016 to 2020, CSA’s audit and investigation workforce dropped by 18%.
CSA can’t fill all of its positions and keeps losing experienced staff. This hinders its ability to complete its work effectively and efficiently. The agency struggles to build institutional knowledge, which limits the quality of of its performance audits, financial audits, and investigations of improper government activities, fraud, waste and abuse.
CSA employees report a fear-based, toxic workplace.
Audit staff and management have experienced or witnessed retaliation, mismanagement, harassment, abuse, and discrimination. CSA’s workplace practices are not equitable or inclusive, and diversity among its staff is significantly lacking.
CSA refused to produce data on its turnover by race when members of its strategic planning team suggested black and brown employees left at disproportionately higher rates. People with disabilities also felt their job security was at risk or their performance evaluations suffered after they requested accommodations.
CSA's high turnover limits its ability to deliver the oversight taxpayers expect and deserve.
The Legislature trusts CSA to report on the most salient policy issues we face, including how police handle hate crimes, the prevalence of homelessness, and university admission practices.
How can we rely on an agency that fails to hold itself accountable to conduct its work with integrity? We can’t trust CSA to improve performance within other agencies through its audits and investigations until it looks at why its turnover is so high and takes steps to improve retention.
CSA’s budget grew by more than 40 percent between FY 2016-17 and FY 2020-21.
Although CSA publicly submits projected costs and hours for each audit to the Legislature for approval, it does not provide an audit's final costs or hours, and denied public records requests for this information.
CSA produces fewer reports.
The number of reports CSA published has declined over time from 38 reports in 2016, to 27 reports in 2019, and only 16 reports in 2020. Taxpayers deserve to know why they are spending more money to receive fewer reports.
The State Auditor’s mission is to enhance accountability in government, however they are not committed to being transparent with the people they serve.
Although CSA employees may use the alternative whistleblower hotline to submit complaints about improper government activities, fraud, waste, mismanagement, and abuse within CSA, there are no public accountability measures built into existing law. Moreover, it could take years for those investigations to be completed. The Little Hoover Commission and peer reviews completed by other states’ auditors do not look at CSA's workplace or management practices.
Former employees are proposing three solutions aimed at holding CSA accountable to the public.
24 former and current auditors and investigators support the recommendations listed below. Join us in asking our elected officials to commit to addressing shortcomings in our State’s government oversight agency.
Tell California legislators to take action today.
Simply click the button below, then copy and paste the following message into the email body.
Add “Hold the CA State Auditor Accountable” to the subject line, then hit send!
Dear esteemed member of California’s Legislature,
I am concerned about high turnover and a lack of transparency at the California State Auditor's Office (CSA). Please take action to improve CSA's ability to conduct oversight of state agencies by requiring that the State Auditor:
Disclose an audit’s final cost and direct hours in each report, or make this information publicly available
Publish to its website redacted copies of reports finding improper government activities, fraud, waste, or abuse by CSA staff, investigated through the alternative whistleblower hotline
Create an internal audit branch to evaluate and report to the Joint Legislative Audit Committee on CSA’s workplace practices, including the root causes and costs of turnover, and corrective action CSA will take
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Volunteers who are also former audit employees collected, reviewed, and analyzed CSA data. This information is included for identification purposes only.
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