Colorado’s state auditor issued a “clean” opinion on the financial statements prepared by the government and higher education institutions, concluding they met generally accepted accounting principles and the documents were presented fairly.

The state’s financial statements reported total assets of $65.9 billion and expenditures of $56.3 billion.

The state also spent just over $20 billion in federal funds last year, nearly half of which went to Medicaid.

Auditors issued 105 recommendations to state departments and higher education institutions to improve financial reporting, information systems, and compliance with federal requirements.

Auditors discussed one of their most significant findings regarding the Office of the State Controller’s oversight of the state’s financial reporting during the Legislative Audit Committee’s public hearing on Wednesday.

The auditors said the state controller allowed staff and departments to record over $24 billion in transactions in the state’s accounting system after the statutory deadline for closing state accounting books. An audit report noted that this has been an ongoing problem.

Auditors issued recommendations to the state controller to improve oversight and ensure the state’s transactions are reported on time.

The full audit report is available here.