The issue of when is an “audit” an “audit” at the Oklahoma Corporation Commission is back.
A year after then-Corporation Commissioner Bob Anthony raised the issue regarding the agency’s reported one-page audit of the bond security cases following the 2021 Winter Storm Uri costs, it has been raised in a current Oklahoma Natural Gas rate case.
It was raised by Oklahoma City Certified Public Accountant, David Greenwell, the very individual that Anthony attempted to present to the Corporation Commission during a
controversial OG&E rate case in 2024. He contended at the time the one-page audit wasn’t a real audit as defined under Oklahoma law.
He further argued the confusion of what the word “audit” means and how state laws requiring an “audit” are to be interpreted—has created confusion that is not in the public interest. Greenwell restated his belief that from all available evidence in the previous cases, the PUD witness in the winter securitization and OGE rate cases was not a CPA or a PA.
He further charged since the OCC’s Public Utility Division was a part to ONG’s 2021 securitizaton case as a part of which the terms and requirements of the Securitization Act were incorporated into the utility’s Final Financing Order, the “OCC PUD is not independent in fact or in appearance as required by the Oklahoma Accountancy Act and the O.A.B.Rules of Professional Conduct.”
Greenwell continued in his recent filing that “this failure to conduct a lawful “audit persurant to 74 O.S. 9078 may potentially have significant follow-on consequences for other determinations in these cases.” He asked the commission to examine its compliance with the Oklahoma Accountancy Act.
“Further, I caution the Commission to be careful to avoid casually or informally using the term “audit” to describe any of its official responsibilities or activities without ensuring that it is in full compliance with the Oklahoma Statutes when doing so.”
A former Oklahoma City Ward 5 councilman, Greenwell is also the former chairman of the Oklahoma Accountancy Board and has served on several professional committees with the Oklahoma Society of CPAs (OSCPA) and American Institute of CPAs (AICPA).
Before joining the faculty of the Oklahoma Baptist University’s College of Business, Greenwell was a partner with RSM US, LLP, the fifth largest CPA firm nationally and internationally. In addition to 40 years of tax and consulting experience, Greenwell was the financial investigation and disputes leader for RSM in Oklahoma. He led forensic investigations and provided expert testimony in numerous federal and state district courts, as well as representation before the Internal Revenue Service Appeals Division for more than 20 years.
