Research Project
The Lone Star Shines Bright: How Texas Found the Carrot (or the Stick?) to Improve Cities’ Audit Times
- Research Area(s)
- Government Finance Research
- Research Report
- Funding Source
- Government Finance Research Center and Merritt Research Services, an Investortools Company
Abstract
The Lone Star Shines Bright: How Texas Found the Carrot (or the Stick?) to Improve Cities’ Audit Times explores the audit completion times of municipal bond issuers. This year’s analysis was developed through a partnership between Merritt Research Services, an Investortools Company, and the Government Finance Research Center at the University of Illinois Chicago. The report begins with an overview of audit time trends between 2013 and 2024. Then, it examines audit time performance changes between 2020 and 2024 to evaluate audit timing recovery from disruptions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. Next, it highlights the timeliest audits for the 2024 fiscal year, grouped by credit sector, from over 16,000 municipal bond audits. Finally, the report highlights the efforts of Texas to markedly improve audit timeliness among cities through new legislation that other states could replicate. Published June 8, 2026. Read the full report here.