|
HAGÅTÑA, GUAM - A few weeks ago, the Guam Chamber of Commerce welcomed Public Auditor Benjamin J.F. Cruz, who shared in clear, candid terms what many in our business community have long observed: the Government of Guam has an accountability problem, and it goes deeper than paperwork. Behind every late audit, missing report, or unanswered request for financial data lies an unmet obligation to treat transparency as a non-negotiable duty to the people and businesses of Guam.
By law, GovGuam's government-wide audits are to be completed by June of the following fiscal year. In practice, unfortunately, those deadlines have become aspirational at best. The fiscal year 2023 government-wide financial audit, for example, was approximately seven months late, a delay the Public Auditor has compared to the difficulty of obtaining basic information from agencies. The fiscal year 2024 audit was not issued until April 27, 2026, 298 days past its legal deadline, and the most delayed in at least four years. This is no longer an occasional slip. It is a pattern that warrants serious attention.
The consequences extend well beyond the pages of an audit report. Delayed audits have disrupted federal grants and penalized local programs that serve vulnerable residents. In one recent case, a local agency saw a portion of its grant reduced because the required audit was not available in time, while a victim services provider struggled to pay counselors because federal reimbursements were held up pending completion of the government-wide audit. When GovGuam falls short on these obligations, our nonprofits, service providers, and ultimately our residents bear the cost.
The latest single audit findings underscore the seriousness of the situation. Auditors identified 53 findings, including 44 tied to federal awards, plus 16 additional cases where costs could not be determined due to missing documentation. In total, $22.6 million in federal spending was labeled "questioned costs" because GovGuam could not sufficiently document that the funds were spent appropriately. That includes millions in pandemic-era American Rescue Plan funds recorded as "miscellaneous" without supporting contracts or invoices, as well as Medicaid draws that could not be confirmed as allowable expenditures. These are not clerical oversights. They are findings that demand a substantive response.
For the business community, this accountability deficit carries direct implications. Reliable, timely financial information is the foundation for credible budgets, responsible borrowing, and sound investment decisions. The Public Auditor has repeatedly noted that the Legislature cannot responsibly build budgets without current audits, and that prolonged delays elevate GovGuam's risk profile in the eyes of federal partners and investors. When our government carries a high-risk auditee designation and accumulates repeat findings and material weaknesses, it undermines confidence in Guam's fiscal management and in our broader investment climate.
To his credit, the Public Auditor has not been silent. He has urged lawmakers to revisit legislation that would hold agency heads accountable for failing to submit required financial information on time, and he has called for common-sense reforms - including salary parity to help agencies recruit and retain qualified financial staff, and a more stable rollout of the Guam Financial Management Information System. The Chamber supports these efforts. But even the most robust system will fall short if those entrusted with public funds do not embrace a genuine culture of compliance.
That is where our elected representatives must step in. The Administration and the Legislature have an opportunity to send a clear, unified message: meeting statutory audit deadlines, maintaining complete documentation, and responding promptly to auditors are baseline expectations, not optional tasks to be addressed when convenient. That means enforcing meaningful consequences for chronic non-compliance, addressing repeat findings, and linking senior officials' performance evaluations to measurable improvements in financial reporting. To characterize the Government of Guam’s fiscal picture and position as “hunky dory” is tone deaf, given the accountability deficit of the government, as evidenced of late.
The Chamber's members - who file their taxes, submit their reports, and meet their regulatory obligations under penalty of law - have every right to expect the same standard from their government. It is not an unreasonable ask. It is the foundation of a functioning, accountable government that Guam's economy and its residents deserve. The time for incremental progress has passed. We look forward to the actions that will follow.
*** End of Release ***
June 16, 2026
| 
