new material
On September 21, 2026, New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli announced that the following State Government Accountability audits have been released.
Click on the text highlighted in color to access the audit report described.
State University of New York – Artificial Intelligence Governance (2024-S-33) The State University of New York (SUNY) is the nation’s largest comprehensive system of public higher education, and its governing arm—SUNY System Administration (SUNY Admin)—provides general oversight of operations for State-operated campuses. SUNY campuses have adopted artificial intelligence (AI) to support operations, including transcribing clinical notes during patient visits, reading license plates and identifying parking violations in campus parking lots, monitoring campus data to identify students at risk of dropping out and automatically masking personally identifiable information from video evidence. Auditors found that SUNY Admin does not have an effective AI governance framework, a standard definition of AI, or documented policies and procedures related to the development and use of AI systems. A sample of four SUNY campuses that have used AI showed that AI governance varies significantly across campuses—some have identified key risks and taken steps to address them, while others have not created or updated policies to address risks or taken other steps toward effective AI governance.
Metropolitan Transportation Authority – New York City Transit: Risk Assessment and Implementation of Measures to Address Extreme Weather Conditions (Follow-Up) (2025-F-31) Flooding remains a serious issue for New York City and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s (MTA) transportation system, including New York City Transit (Transit). In September 2007, the Chair of the MTA appointed a commission to make sustainability-related recommendations to the MTA and its agencies. A prior audit, issued in September 2023, examined whether MTA had identified potential damage to its system and developed plans to mitigate the effect of extreme weather conditions and flooding, and whether the MTA had tested/updated the plans and inspected and maintained the equipment to ensure they can be deployed when needed. The audit found MTA had not implemented one of the most important recommendations—the development of the climate change adaptation master plan. A review of a sample of capital projects intended to correct or prevent damage found that projects were often incomplete in scope of work, not finished on time or within budget or insufficiently documented. MTA officials made progress in addressing the problems identified in the initial audit report. Of the initial report’s nine audit recommendations, five were implemented, two were partially implemented and two were not implemented.
New York City Office of Technology and Innovation – Artificial Intelligence Governance (Follow-Up) 2025-F-17 New York City’s Office of Technology and Innovation (OTI) was created by the Mayor’s Executive Order 3 in January 2022, with responsibility for the oversight and governance of artificial intelligence (AI). A prior audit, issued in February 2023, examined governance policies for AI use at four agencies: the Administration for Children’s Services, the Department of Education, the New York City Police Department, and the Department of Buildings. The audit found significant shortfalls in oversight and risk assessment of artificial intelligence. OTI officials made some progress in addressing the problems identified in the initial audit report. All three of the initial report’s audit recommendations were partially implemented.
State Education Department (Preschool Special Education Audit Initiative) – Helen Keller Services for the Blind: Compliance With the Reimbursable Cost Manual (2024-S-20) Helen Keller Services for the Blind (Helen Keller) is a New York City-based organization authorized by the State Education Department (SED) to provide Special Class education services to children with disabilities who are between the ages of 3 and 5 years (referred to as the SED preschool cost-based program). For the audit scope, Helen Keller reported approximately $10 million in reimbursable costs for the SED preschool cost-based program. Auditors identified $1,337,765 in reported costs that did not comply with the requirements.
Agriculture and New York State Horse Breeding Development Fund – Security Over Critical Systems (2026-S-2) The Agriculture and New York State Horse Breeding Development Fund (HBDF) is a public benefit corporation responsible for promoting agriculture through the breeding of Standardbred horses and the conduct of equine research within the state. HBDF administers three racing programs and uses the funds from these programs to support the statewide 4-H program and the Harry M. Zweig Memorial Fund for Equine Research to promote equine research at Cornell University. Auditors identified areas where HBDF could improve certain security controls to minimize the risks associated with unauthorized access to its systems and data and communicated the details of these findings in a confidential report to HBDF.
XXXX