In a continued partnership with the Government Finance Research Center at the University of Illinois Chicago, Merritt Research Center, an Investortools company, examines the timeliness of municipal bond audits for the 2022 fiscal year. The report also conducts a correlational analysis to investigate the potential connection between credit rating and audit timeliness, providing a geographical illustration of median audit times across U.S. states for governmental bond issuers. Utilizing Merritt Research Services’ extensive database within the CreditScope® system, the report analyzes over 11,000 municipal bond audits.
Stakeholders ranging from bond investors to government watchdogs and regulators have continually called for faster audit times from municipal bond issuers. Timeliness in audit reporting is a critical indicator of good governance and stewardship, essential for accurate credit evaluation and proper pricing in the municipal bond market. In contrast to corporate bond issuers, municipal bond issuers typically take two to three times longer, 140 to 180 days, to complete their audits.
To recognize and encourage timely transparency, Merritt Research Services has been tracking and reporting on the completion and signing times of municipal bond-related audits since 2007. Starting in 2022, Merritt Research Services partnered with the Government Finance Research Center at the University of Illinois Chicago to further this effort.
Read the report: Credit Rating and Geography: Examining the Timeliness of Municipal Bond Audits
explore Credit Analysis Solutions
About Investortools
Having continually innovated to serve the needs of the fixed-income marketplace for four decades, Investortools’ systems have become a prerequisite for success for fixed-income investment management. Investortools’ comprehensive suite of products is available as a SaaS solution, addressing all aspects of the investment lifecycle from portfolio, order, and execution management to performance analytics and attribution, 2a-7 compliance, and credit analysis. Investortools is a trusted partner for more than 200 retail and institutional SMA managers, fund managers, broker-dealers, and fixed-income market participants who manage over $1 trillion in assets within the platform.
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.
