Oregon’s state auditors do some of the most consequential work in the state. They find what state government is doing right and what it is doing wrong.

But sometimes their recommendations for improvement are refused or forsaken. Days after Gov. Tina Kotek took office in 2023, she called on leaders of state agencies to do better in order to meet a new set of expectations on audit accountability.

Kotek directed them to disclose their progress on meeting audit recommendations. A state agency would compile reports. Two reports have been issued, one in 2023 and one earlier this year. The reports fall short, because it is difficult to fully conclude how good or bad the situation is.

The first report was so preliminary it didn’t attempt to provide trends on audit accountability. It did better on other things Kotek had requested from agencies, such as improving hiring practices.

The second report is more mature. It tracked audits completed between Jan. 1, 2023, and Oct. 31, 2023.

A total of 38 internal audits were conducted across 19 agencies and came up with 203 recommendations. Of those recommendations, 55 were completed and 5 were dismissed because the agency did not agree with them.

Why were they dismissed? There is no explanation in the report.

The secretary of state also made “a total of 86 recommendations to 16 agencies, in 23 audits,” in the same time period, the report said. “Of the 86 recommendations, 42 have been closed; 3 were no longer relevant, and there were none where the agency disagreed.”

Some agencies reported they had recommendations that missed their due dates, though they were working on them. There were four issues by the Department of Revenue and one issue for the Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission. The OLCC had another three issues that were past due and had not even begun. Explanations were provided for the delays, but it’s not clear from the report what those eight issues were.

It’s hard to judge audit accountability from the report if it’s not clear what recommendations have been dismissed, not completed or not even begun.

Andrea Chiapella, communications director at the Department of Administrative Services, told us in an email her agency does want to make information available in a more “nuanced manner.” And the governor’s office told us: “The Governor’s advisors work regularly with agencies to review the results of the quarterly progress reports and support agencies in reaching their set goals.”

Kotek was right to require these reports. But they don’t yet meet our expectations to help government meet Kotek’s higher set of expectations.