Merritt Research Services, an Investortools Company, in partnership with the University of Illinois Chicago’s Government Finance Research Center (GFRC), today published its annual Audit Time 2023 Report, “The Good, The Bad, and the Super Slow,” examining the speed and efficiency of municipal bond audit completion. Drawing on nearly 12,000 municipal bond audits sourced from the Merritt Research Services database found in CreditScope, this report reveals that the median audit time across all municipal bond sectors has increased by 10.6%, from 151 days in 2012 to 167 days in 2023, marking a slowdown of 16 days over the past decade.
Despite the peak accountant shortage in 2023, the study found a modest improvement in audit timeliness year-over-year: median audit times edged down slightly from 169 days in 2022 to 167 days in 2023. Revenue bond issuers continue to outperform their governmental counterparts, completing audits more rapidly on average. However, a cohort of issuers, those yet to file their 2023 audits as of May 5, 2025, exhibited persistently long delays, reflecting patterns of late reporting stretching back through 2021 and 2022.
The report spotlights extreme cases of delayed filings: both Illinois and Nevada remain over 700 days past their fiscal year-end without submitting their 2023 audits, establishing a new record for state-level lateness outside of territories. Such prolonged lags can hinder investor confidence and impede accurate credit evaluation in the municipal market.
“Timely audits are the backbone of transparency and fiscal stewardship in municipal finance,” says Richard A. Ciccarone, President Emeritus of Merritt Research Services. “Our analysis underscores both commendable best practices and areas where urgent improvement is needed to protect stakeholders and maintain market integrity. We’re proud to leverage CreditScope’s expansive database to shine a light on trends that drive better governance.”
To recognize and encourage timely transparency, Merritt has been tracking and reporting on the completion and signing times of municipal bond-related audits since 2007. Starting in 2022, Merritt has partnered with the GFRC to further this effort.
Investortools Product Contact
Richard A. Ciccarone
President Emeritus of Merritt Research Services, an Investortools company
richard.ciccarone@merrittresearch.com
Investortools Media Contact
Jessica McDaniel
Marketing Lead
jessica.mcdaniel@invtools.com
University of Illinois Chicago Media Contact
Brian Flood
Senior Associate Director, University Communications
bflood@uic.edu
About Investortools
For more than four decades, Investortools has been a leading SaaS provider of solutions regarded by the industry as a prerequisite for fixed-income investment management. Its comprehensive product suite covers portfolio, order, and execution management, performance analytics, 2a-7 compliance, and credit analysis. Trusted by over 200 firms managing more than $1 trillion in assets, Investortools supports SMA managers, fund managers, broker-dealers, and other key market participants.
About the Government Finance Research Center
The purpose of the Government Finance Research Center at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) College of Urban Planning and Public Affairs (CUPPA) is to shape and inform public policy and scholarly discourse on government and public finance by identifying, planning, and executing research, providing reports and informed analyses, delivering educational opportunities and technical training, and offering inclusive venues to convene national and local discussions on fiscal and governance issues.
