MaliaCohen.orgVoters demand transparency
Menu
← Research and records

Why are California’s financial reports so late?

The Controller’s Office is responsible for preparing the state’s annual financial report. A July 2026 outside review identified failures in communication, accounting guidance and departmental submissions. The reporting delay has been on California’s high-risk list since 2020.

Reviewed

What does a late financial report mean for taxpayers?

A budget describes what government plans to do. An audited financial report helps show what actually happened: spending, assets, debts and the state’s financial position. When that report arrives late, readers are judging current decisions using an older picture of the books.

Morgan’s March 2026 white paper makes delayed reporting a central criticism of Cohen’s tenure. The State Auditor’s own reporting confirms a recurring delay across several fiscal years. [1][3]

When the state’s financial statements were issued
Fiscal year endedIssuedSource
June 30, 2022March 2024[3]
June 30, 2023December 13, 2024[4]
June 30, 2024September 2025[3]

What did the outside review find?

KPMG examined the Controller’s Office, the Department of Finance, the State Auditor and five large departments. The review concerned a reporting process shared across agencies. [2]

Problems identified in the July 31, 2026 review
FindingPlain-English meaningSource
Unclear roles between the Controller and FinanceThe agencies needed clearer responsibility and better communication.[2]
No single authority for technical accounting guidanceDepartments needed consistent answers about how to prepare their accounts.[2]
Late accounting submissionsState entities were sending required information too late.[2]

Were the delayed reports just a paperwork problem?

The report for the year ended June 30, 2023 carried modified audit opinions for the Federal Fund and Governmental Activities because of matters involving EDD. That is a separate issue from publication timing: the auditor also qualified its assessment of parts of the financial statements. [4]

Readers need both measures: when the report arrived and what the auditor concluded about it. A faster publication date alone does not answer questions about the quality of the accounting.

What progress did the auditor acknowledge?

State Auditor Grant Parks credited the Controller’s Office, Finance and others for improvements in timeliness and quality. KPMG still recommended further reforms, including changes to the auditor’s own approach to materiality and sampling. [2]

The useful test now is measurable follow-through: a publication schedule, named responsibility for each reporting stage and a record of completed recommendations. Those measures let readers compare promises with results.

Sources and original documents

  1. Radical Transparency in California State Finances ↗Herb Morgan campaign · March 16, 2026
  2. 2025-602: State of California’s Late Financial Reporting ↗California State Auditor / KPMG · July 31, 2026
  3. 2025-601: State High-Risk Audit Program ↗California State Auditor · December 2025
  4. 2023-001: Financial Report, Year Ended June 30, 2023 ↗California State Auditor · December 13, 2024

Her story, in context

User-supplied portrait of Malia Cohen.

Cohen was elected California State Controller in November 2022. Her official biography lists earlier service on the State Board of Equalization and the San Francisco Board of Supervisors.

The office’s biography is its own account of her career. Evaluating her work requires the underlying decisions, reports and responses alongside that account.

Read the original sources

What the controller does

The controller’s office handles statewide accounting, disbursements and payroll, audits public agencies, and administers unclaimed property. These responsibilities are described in the office’s published functions.

The State Auditor is a separate office. An outside audit of the controller and an audit performed by the controller are different records.

Read the original sources

Read the finding and the response

The payroll recovery timeline and the office’s response appear in “Who watches the watchdog?” below.

Read the original sources

Your shares. Sold by the state.

The unclaimed-property chapter covers the reported investor allegations, the stock-sale rules, the system transition and claimants’ experiences. Follow its numbered citations to the original sources.

Read the original sources

Follow the decision, then the outcome

The controller’s published duties include membership on financing and financial-oversight bodies. That broad role is a starting point, not proof that Cohen directed any particular housing award.

A project-level review should identify the responsible board, the decision and any recorded vote or delegation. It should keep authorized financing, money paid and completed housing outcomes separate. No project-specific finding is asserted here.

Read the original sources

What a campaign filing can tell us

California’s Secretary of State provides access to campaign and lobbying disclosures through CAL-ACCESS resources. Original filings are the starting point for checking a contribution’s amount, date and reported source.

A contribution alone does not establish influence over an audit or contract. Any such claim needs separate evidence connecting the donor, the decision and the official action.

Read the original sources

Progress belongs in the record, too

Read the financial reporting story below for the review’s findings and the progress it credited.

Read the original sources

The promises before the office

In a 2022 interview reported by CalMatters, Cohen described an expanded watchdog role and said she wanted scrutiny of the EDD, DMV and homelessness programs.

Those statements are a record of her campaign priorities. Establishing what followed requires comparing them with completed reports and the office’s explanations.

Read the original sources

How to read this publication

This publication is paid for by Herb Morgan for State Controller 2026, FPPC #1480103. It is not affiliated with Malia Cohen or the State Controller’s Office.

We link factual claims to dated records. Government findings, campaign statements and lawsuit allegations are identified by their source. Material responses appear beside the criticism.

We distinguish allocations from spending, individual contributions from company payments, and policy oversight from professional accounting work. The sources and methodology pages explain the comparisons.

Photography & illustration

The hero combines a user-supplied portrait with an AI-generated California park background and adjusted lighting. It is an illustrative composite, not a photograph of an actual visit or event. The yellow-blouse portrait has AI-assisted lighting and background extension. The seated microphone portrait is an AI-assisted background removal and clarity treatment of a supplied photograph, used as context, not as a reaction to the findings or an image of the encampment. Other Cohen portraits were supplied by the user; Original source files are retained in the editorial archive. Images are used for context and do not document the events discussed. The white-jacket portrait has AI-assisted clarity, highlight and color adjustments, with the original flag and backdrop removed for a navy-gradient composition, based on the supplied photograph.

The encampment beneath an overpass is an AI-generated illustration for visual context. The encampment does not depict an identified real location. It does not document a particular event, file, transaction, housing project or meeting. The Napa resort terrace is a generic AI-generated illustration, not a photograph of Silverado Resort, its specific event room, or the June 8 fundraiser.

The coastal photograph is Pacific Coast by Alanthebox, from Wikimedia Commons, dedicated under CC0. It is cropped and darkened in the layout. These visual treatments do not supply evidence for the editorial claims.

The Doug Brown interview frame is a screenshot of the CBS San Francisco report by Brad Hamilton, published June 15, 2026. It is linked to the original report beside the image, with the CBS watermark preserved. The frame is cropped without AI alteration and links to the original broadcast.

Coastal photograph and license ↗

The source library

8 sources

Your money deserves answers.

Are you a California voter who wants more transparency in state spending? Get updates on the Controller’s Office and learn how you can help bring more sunshine to Sacramento.