Des Moines — Iowa state Sen. Claire Celsi released the following statement in response to news that the state will publish critical financial reports more than six months late, jeopardizing federal funding for state universities. 

This is the third year in a row the state has failed to file its annual comprehensive financial report on time, due to the botched and ultimately aborted implementation of a new statewide financial software. 

“The Reynolds Administration has not acted with a sense of urgency to fix this problem. Auditor Rob Sand’s office has assisted the universities on a work-around, but that still doesn’t solve the problem going forward,” Iowa Sen. Claire Celsi said.

“I urge the Reynolds Administration to put extra resources behind this so that the state can file next year’s report on time and get back on track,” Celsi said. “It’s disappointing that the Reynolds Administration has failed to prioritize this issue, putting funding at risk for our Regents universities.”

Celsi, D-West Des Moines, serves as the ranking member on the Senate Oversight Committee.

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