A new performance audit by the Office of the Legislative Auditor (OLA) reveals widespread financial mismanagement in the Office of Governor Tim Walz and Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan, with 12 findings of noncompliance, including late vendor payments, inaccurate payroll and reimbursements, missing documentation, and failure to track state assets.

Covering July 1, 2022, through December 31, 2024, the audit concludes the office “generally did not comply with the criteria we tested” and exposed significant internal control deficiencies across receipts, payroll, inventory, and nonpayroll spending.

“Minnesotans are getting numb to the weekly reports of waste, fraud, and abuse in the Walz administration, so it’s no surprise that the governor’s own office lacks the discipline and integrity to do things the right way,” said Senator Rich Draheim (R–Madison Lake). “During my nine years in office, Democrats and Republicans have come close to passing bipartisan solutions to restore accountability and transparency in state government, only to be blocked by Governor Walz. He sunk our independent, bipartisan Office of Inspector General and replaced it with his own OIG, staffed by the same people who have perpetuated fraud across state agencies and within his own office. The governor needs to take a hard look at this nonpartisan OLA report and fix the culture of fraud he has created.”

The audit follows prior unresolved findings and comes amid ongoing scrutiny of state program oversight. The Governor’s Office claims most issues are resolved, but OLA notes several prior findings remain only partially addressed.

Watch the livestream of the Legislative Audit Commission.