For the Nov. 7 New Mexico general election, SFR called candidates to test their knowledge. The rules for Pop Quiz were as follows: No research allowed and if they call back later with the right answer, too bad. To see who answered correctly (or came closest), check out our answer keys below.
Questions:
1. What are the two types of audits that the State Auditor's Office can employ to launch a more in-depth financial investigation of a state agency or institution?
2. Where is the state auditor in the line of succession to the Governor's Office and, for bonus points, can you name the government officials who come before and after the state auditor in the line of succession?
3. What, if anything, do you think the State Auditor's Office could have done differently to call attention earlier to the alleged corruption within the State Treasurer's Office?
4. In your interpretation of the state auditor's job requirements, how important is it that the state auditor has an auditing or accounting background?
5. If you had the power to audit the finances of any person or institution in the world, who would you audit and why?
Answers:
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Hector Balderas (Democrat), 33, is a lawyer, special prosecutor and New Mexico state representative representing House District 68.
1. The two main audits are annual and special. We can do a special audit to do a more thorough investigation, and then there's also a performance audit that is generally used by the [Legislative Finance Committee].
2. I believe we're fifth. Before the state auditor is the treasurer, I believe, and there is nobody in the line of succession after the state auditor.
3. I think the state auditor could have worked more aggressively with the Treasurer's Office to make sure that they corrected the findings of the initial audits. For instance, the Treasurer's Office-as a result of the audit-did not have whistle-blowing policies and so I believe it created an environment in which employees were afraid to speak out.
4. I think it's not as important that the state auditor have an auditing background as it is that they have an enforcement background. The way the State Auditor's Office is set up is that 95 percent of the audits are privately contracted, so I think that it's just as important to have someone who has a legal understanding of procurement codes and management practices.
5. I would probably want to audit our educational institutions. That's probably the first place I would start in order to make sure that public confidence is protected. I think this position is about protecting public resources, and I would just want to ensure that we are utilizing every resource possible to benefit the students in those institutions.
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Lorenzo Garcia (Republican), 56, is a retired certified public accountant.
1. They can do a performance audit or they can do a special fraud audit.
2. I believe the state auditor is No. 5 in the line of succession…it goes from the state treasurer to the state auditor. After the state auditor…it would be the land commissioner.
3. I believe the state auditor could have worked closer with the Board of Finance to implement controls, primarily in the area of procurement…Other than that, there wasn't much that could have been done. Once the procurement occurred, the [alleged] fraud occurred outside of the books.
4. It's a must. Otherwise it's no different than the attorney general not being an attorney. There are numerous technical accounting principles and auditing standards that need to be applied, and the state auditor needs to know what those are in order to be able to manage these audits.
5. I would audit the Pentagon and its spending on military endeavors. I think the United States gets involved in military operations, and oftentimes they need to make quick decisions and become involved in procurements that are somewhat hasty, and I think opportunities are there for military vendors to take advantage of the system. As a result, I believe that there is major fraud going on with military contracts.
SFR Key
1. The state auditor can employ "special audits" and "fraud audits" to launch more in-depth financial investigations of state agencies and institutions. The authority for "performance audits" was transferred from the state auditor to the Legislative Finance Committee in 1991.
2. The state auditor is sixth in the line of succession to the Governor's Office. The auditor is preceded by the attorney general and followed by the land commissioner in the line of succession.
