State Tax Officials Weigh Solutions to Growing Auditor Shortage

State revenue agencies are grappling with a shortage of auditors, forcing department heads to rethink hiring strategies and pay closer attention to the cases they do pursue with fewer resources on hand.

Government officials have long struggled to attract and retain talent while the private sector offers much higher salaries, but the issue has intensified in recent years. Many state and local governments are bracing for a “silver tsunami” as older workers retire, said Emily Brock, director of the federal liaison center at the Government Finance Officers Association, which represents more than 20,000 federal, state, and local finance ...