{"id":232,"date":"2026-05-13T05:03:20","date_gmt":"2026-05-13T05:03:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/arizonamovinginsider.com\/?p=232"},"modified":"2026-05-13T05:03:20","modified_gmt":"2026-05-13T05:03:20","slug":"auditors-report-shows-more-gaps-in-esa-programs-financial-accountability","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/arizonamovinginsider.com\/?p=232","title":{"rendered":"Auditor’s report shows more gaps in ESA program’s financial accountability"},"content":{"rendered":"
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PHOENIX \u2014 Arizona’s auditor general is telling the Empowerment Scholarship Account Program to clean up its transaction review process.<\/p>\n

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More than 100,000 Arizona students receive money from the state to pay for homeschooling or to attend private schools. The program costs more than $1 billion a year.<\/p>\n

A recently released report from the Arizona Auditor General’s Office concluded the ESA program put fewer transactions through its auditing process than the program managers claimed to be reviewing. <\/p>\n

To expedite approval for families purchasing educational materials, officials had been automatically processing ESA transactions under $2,000, but the purchases were subject to subsequent auditing and approval. <\/p>\n

The Arizona Department of Education, which runs the ESA program, said the 30 percent audit rate was a goal, not a mandate.<\/p>\n

The report also said ESA managers were not timely in reviewing and taking action on transactions flagged for issues. The State Auditor’s Office looked at a sample of 63 transactions and found 25 (34%) had issues, which the ESA program did not identify. <\/p>\n

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Those issues included missing documentation, indicators of possible misuse, overpayments, and unallowable expenses.<\/p>\n

Examples included:<\/p>\n