The Oregon Secretary of State’s Office audits tell us what we know but need to be reminded about: State government makes mistakes with money.

Every year there’s a roundup of these mistakes. And it’s clear it’s necessary. For the fiscal year 2020, state auditors found $6.4 billion in accounting errors. That’s right, $6.4 billion.

Those were unintentional mistakes. It’s not like somebody was trying to abscond with $6.4 billion. They were mistakes. Basically, numbers were put in the wrong column and later caught thanks to state audits. It does make you wonder what wasn’t caught.

What can be more important is when the audits uncover weaknesses in the policies for handling money.

For instance, the Department of Consumer and Business Services is a state agency dedicated to consumer protection and business regulation. It failed to properly follow new accounting rules required for fiscal year 2020. Other state agencies got it right. The department misinterpreted the new rules and reported about $400 million incorrectly. That department also failed to have required documentation explaining how it made decisions about handling money in two areas, such as determining what is uncollectible money.

And there’s more. When state auditors tested some spending to ensure proper procedures are followed so federal funds may be used to pay for them, it found mistakes. The biggest problem was in the child care and development fund. That is a federal grant program that helps provide child care services for low-income families and improve child care overall. Auditors found $4.2 million in errors. Numbers were miscalculated, provider copays were off, there was a lack of documentation to back up payments and more.

New report. Similar conclusions. Without state auditors peering over the shoulders of other state agencies, even more mistakes would be made.