The committee certified Stacy A. Henshaw as qualified to serve a four-year term as Virginia Auditor of Public Accounts beginning Feb. 1, 2025, after members moved, seconded and approved the recommendation by voice vote.

Henshaw told the committee she audits the Commonwealth’s financial statements annually along with public colleges and universities, the state lottery and ABC entities. She said her office has overseen implementation of two major accounting standards related to leases and subscription-based arrangements and that those implementations required a number of adjustments to state financial statements.

Henshaw said the office has issued internal-control and compliance recommendations tied to those implementations and that, over recent years, the state’s financial-statement adjustments have totaled “several billion dollars.” She described workforce pressures in accounting and financial-reporting roles across state agencies and said her office has made organizational changes and formed a “process innovation” team to pursue greater use of technology.

She outlined technology steps taken in the audit office, including robotic process automation for routine administrative functions, use of templates to standardize report generation, and evaluation of artificial intelligence for audit procedures. Henshaw said her office completes an external peer review every three years; she said her office received the highest rating with no deficiencies on recent reviews.

A motion to certify Henshaw’s qualifications was made by Delegate Converse Fowler and seconded by Delegate O’Quinn; the chair called for the voice vote and announced the motion passed with no opposition.

Henshaw also noted professional recognition for the office: an 11-year streak of being named one of Richmond’s top workplaces and a reinstated internship program recognized as a top Virginia employer for interns. She told the committee she was invited to serve on the AICPA Auditing Standards Board to represent government auditors.

The committee record shows the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission (JLARC) recommended Henshaw’s reappointment prior to the certification.

The committee said staff would relay the certification to the “proper people.”