State Auditor Diana DiZoglio acknowledged multiple times over the past two years that there are “threats” to her ability to impartially audit the Legislature because of her past work as a Massachusetts lawmaker, according to paperwork she signed obtained by the Herald.
But in each of the documents, the former legislator maintained she is able to direct a bias-free audit of the House and Senate because of multiple safeguards and guidance her office received from a federal agency during a meeting in 2023 ahead of her first legislative probe.
The Auditor’s General Counsel, Michael Lueng-Tat, said DiZoglio continues to be involved in the legislative audit effort because the office consulted with the U.S. Government Accountability Office, which “indicated that our assessments regarding independence threats and safeguards are consistent with” general auditing standards found in the so-called Yellow Book.
“The auditor is an independent constitutional officer elected directly by the people — constituting the ultimate safeguard, as affirmed by our consultation with GAO, regarding independence. Despite efforts to silence Auditor DiZoglio, she has a constitutional right to speak out as the independently elected constitutional officer she is,” Leung-Tat said in a statement.
The State Auditor’s Office requires any employee who can influence the performance of an audit or the preparation of related reports to complete an annual form that calls on the person to identify if any “threats exist that would compromise independence.”
DiZoglio first signed the form in early February 2023, or about one month after taking office following a campaign that featured pledges to audit the House and Senate. But the Methuen Democrat did not initially list the Legislature as an entity where she could encounter biases.
The Legislature was added to the form as an area where conflicts could arise after the state Auditor’s Office met virtually with the U.S. Government Accountability Office in March 2023, according to internal emails provided to the Herald through a public records request.
“Now that we are launching the Legislature (sic) audit, the auditor needs to submit an updated independence form,” then-Intergovernmental Affairs Director Tyler Carlton-Kelly said in a March 24, 2023 email to Operations Director Andrew Carden, referring to the audit of the House and Senate that was eventually released in October 2024.
DiZoglio signed the updated form in April 2023, which said threats exist that could compromise an audit into the Legislature, including that she could, “as a result of political, ideological, social, or other convictions, take a position that is not objective.”
The auditor also admitted there could be issues with a legislative audit because “aspects of a relationship with management or personnel of an audited entity, such as a close or long relationship, or that of an immediate or close family member, will lead an auditor to take a position that is not objective,” according to the updated 2023 form.
In response to those potential biases and threats, DiZoglio pointed to her office’s work with the federal watchdog agency.
“As for the safeguards to mitigate the threats around the Massachusetts General Court, the (Office of the State Auditor) is consulting with the (U.S. Government Accountability Office) to ensure independence,” DiZoglio wrote on the 2023 form, a line that was repeated in versions signed in 2024 and 2025.
Staff in the office had originally pitched a more detailed description of safeguards for the updated 2023 form — one that would eventually appear as an attachment to the 2024 document — but it was shortened by DiZoglio, according to internal emails.
In an April 2023 email thread, Carlton-Kelly said he would have to check with Audit Quality Assurance Director Georgette Beauchamp “to make sure the shorter language is ok.”
“The original language came at her recommendation and this is a GAO mandatory form,” Carlton-Kelly wrote to Carden. “Need to make sure that the necessary comments are included.”
About two hours later, the shortened language was approved, the emails show.
Leung-Tat said the State Auditor’s Office made sure that DiZoglio completed the initial form during her onboarding process in 2023 but he did not explain why she left the Legislature off the original version.
“In planning for the audit of the Legislature, the office proactively and prospectively consulted with the GAO and updated the forms in accordance with the guidance received,” he said in a statement. “The updated form demonstrates compliance with (the Yellow Book) based (on) our proactive consultation with GAO.”
After voters approved a ballot question in November that explicitly granted the State Auditor’s Office the ability to audit the Legislature, DiZoglio ramped up public attacks on Democratic leadership in the Legislature and individual lawmakers tasked with responding to the probe.
In one post to social media last month, DiZoglio accused a group of senators of “conducting a character assassination of me, and my office, because they’re absolutely terrified of facing a judge in court regarding your 72% voter-approved audit law.”
In another post taking aim at House Speaker Ron Mariano, DiZoglio referred to the “arrogance of powerful people who view themselves as untouchable and above the law.”
Mariano, in a television interview earlier this month, said DiZoglio turned the legislative probe into “a political audit for some issues that she’s been railing against since she first got into the House.”
“We know it’s political. It’s unfortunate that people don’t read into this and listen to the things that she says,” he said.
In response to a question about DiZoglio’s increased criticism of lawmakers, Leung-Tat said the auditor has a “constitutional right to speak out” as an elected constitutional officer.
Top staff at the State Auditor’s Office have consistently pushed back on concerns that DiZoglio cannot ethically direct a probe into the House and Senate after serving in both branches and regularly clashing with and criticizing powerful legislators.
During a contentious meeting last month with state senators amid a second effort to audit the Legislature, top staff at the State Auditor’s Office repeatedly referenced the March 2023 meeting with the U.S. Government Accountability Office.
The virtual meeting was held on March 9, 2023 to discuss “independence threats and safeguards applied, and to receive GAO input,” according to internal emails and a description of the meeting authored by DiZoglio’s staff.
First Deputy Auditor Meredith Barrieau and Beauchamp attended the meeting after the State Auditor’s Office “proactively reached out” in February 2023, according to emails between the two staffers.
One set of notes from the meeting penned by the State Auditor’s Office said staff initially reached out to “make sure we are sufficiently mitigating related independence threats, as well as sufficiently documenting our approach,” according to a copy provided to the Herald.
A spokesperson for the U.S. Government Accountability Office said the meeting focused on “the conceptual framework to independence … and professional judgement, especially as it pertained to questions of independence.”
“When having independence discussions, we emphasize that GAO cannot endorse or conclude the adequacy or lack thereof of any particular safeguard or action,” the spokesperson said.
Leung-Tat said consultations with the federal agency are “ongoing and on an as needed basis as we routinely consult with them about a variety of issues regarding our audits.”
“Based on the GAO’s guidance, the auditor’s independence is through her status as she is independently elected directly by the people and not a member of the legislative branch. Therefore, no additional formal meetings have been required,” he said.
Other top officials at the State Auditor’s Office also wanted to receive guidance from the U.S. Government Accountability Office on the legislative audit.
Tami Gouveia, a former state lawmaker and one-time director of healthcare-related audits, reached out to Barrieau in early February 2023 asking for a conversation with the federal agency “just to be sure we have the right safeguards in place for the legis audit.”
In an email a day later, Barrieau said she thought “that would be a smart idea” and ran a draft question by Gouveia for federal officials.
“Given that some members of the audit team previously worked in the Legislature, we want to make sure we are sufficiently mitigating related independence threats, as well as sufficiently documenting our approach. Could we schedule a conference call with you to discuss further and hear your input?” the proposed question read.
In response to the Herald’s public records request, Leung-Tat said the U.S. Government Accountability Office does not “provide ‘clearances’” for officials to conduct audits but instead offers advice to audit organizations on how to apply generally accepted standards.
The agency also “did not provide a written opinion” on DiZoglio’s ability to ethically audit the Legislature, including during the legislative probe launched in 2023, he said.
The notes from the meeting said DiZoglio was “not part of the core engagement team” during her office’s first attempt at auditing the Legislature and was “not involved in the day-to-day details of conducting audit planning, fieldwork, nor drafting findings and recommendations.”
The notes also said DiZoglio would update her 2023 independence form to “include threats” related to the audit of the Legislature and to refer to “this document for safeguards applied to address the threats.”
The safeguards listed in the notes described DiZoglio’s involvement in the legislative audit as focused on two areas — developing audit topics in the planning phase and reviewing and signing the final report before it is issued, according to the notes.
“GAO stated that although they are not in a position to approve or disapprove certain
safeguards, they indicated that they feel we have assessed everything in the spirit of the GAGAS standards. They also indicated that they are happy to answer any additional questions as the audit gets started,” the notes from the March 2023 meeting said.
The spokesperson for the U.S. Government Accountability Office did not say whether the agency agreed with the State Auditor’s Office summary of the meeting.
