Auditor 1, 2, or 3 (Income)

State of Louisiana•Baton Rouge, LA

1d•Onsite

About The Position

The Office of State Resources (OSTR) is responsible for the stewardship, administration, and strategic management of Louisiana’s publicly owned land, mineral, water, and subsurface assets for energy-related development. At the direction of the State Mineral and Energy Board (SMEB), the Office supports the full lifecycle of public resource management — beginning with the initial bid and contract evaluation, negotiation, and title verification. Once agreements are in place, OSTR oversees operational compliance, ensuring that developers and operators meet performance standards, fulfill contractual obligations, and remit appropriate royalty payments to the State. This integrated model allows OSTR to uphold its fiduciary obligations, enforce accountability, and manage Louisiana’s resource portfolio with foresight and precision. OSTR’s role expands beyond land and minerals to ground and surface water management, creating a foundation for conservation, monitoring, and strategic planning statewide. OSTR manages Louisiana’s proprietary interests in minerals, water, and alternative energy on state lands and water bottoms. It oversees leasing through the State Mineral & Energy Board, ensures accurate royalty collection and audits, and expands into renewable leasing and groundwater management. By uniting mineral, land, and water stewardship, OSTR provides fiduciary oversight of public assets while developing a comprehensive water plan and integrating groundwater district functions. Its role ensures the state captures fair value from resources while safeguarding long-term sustainability. This Auditor position is located in the Income Division within the Office of State Resources in Baton Rouge, LA. The incumbent of this position will perform highly responsible professional audit work in the technical and specialized area of mineral income auditing. Work involves the organization, assignment, review, and/or performance of tasks and accomplishments relative to auditing revenue receivable from the state’s proprietary interest in minerals.

Requirements

Three years of experience in accounting or auditing; OR Six years of full-time experience in any field plus twenty-four semester hours in one or a combination of the following: accounting, auditing, business, finance, management, economics, quantitative methods, or information systems; OR A bachelor’s degree with twenty-four semester hours in one or a combination of the following: accounting, auditing, business, finance, management, economics, quantitative methods, or information systems; OR A bachelor’s degree in accounting, auditing, finance, business administration, management, economics, information systems, quantitative methods, or statistics; OR A bachelor’s degree plus a Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA) or Certified Government Audit Professional (CGAP) designation; OR An advanced degree in accounting, auditing, finance, business administration, management, economics, information systems, quantitative methods, or statistics; OR A Certified Public Accountant (CPA) license, Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE), or Certified Internal Auditor (CIA) designation.
Every 30 semester hours earned from an accredited college or university will be credited as one year of experience towards the six years of full-time work experience in any field. The maximum substitution allowed is 120 semester hours which substitutes for a maximum of four years of experience in any field.

Responsibilities

Performs independent audits of royalty payments record contained within the property, lease ownership, lease sale and tract history, and lease data files necessary to ensure that royalty payments are allocated to the proper state lease and parish.
Reviews and analyzes unitization agreements, property plats, division orders, joint lessees’ operating agreements, terms and conditions of mineral lease contracts, and court documents for settlements for title disputes to determine the correct property decimal.
Confers with the staff geologists, petroleum engineers, and attorneys regarding complex problems with contract terms and provisions, operating and unit agreements, and title settlements between the state and private landowners in order to determine timeliness and accuracy of mineral revenue payments.
Contacts oil company personnel to resolve lease, proprietary interest and reporting problems, requests documentation and/or supporting working papers, explains audit findings and facilitates collection of all monies due.
Develop and recommend changes to SONRIS in the area of lease and property management.
Performs monthly audits, under supervision, of royalty for payor company accounts.
Ensure that royalties submitted on new producing entities are properly paid from first production or the effective date of unitization and that the correct state of royalty interest was used in payment calculation.
Verify that credit adjustments on itemized royalty reports are properly authorized according to limits and policy set by the state Mineral and Energy Board.
Quantifies and documents discrepancies and audit exceptions.
Prepares invoices and/or audit billings for additional royalty, legal interest and penalty, or administrative fees.
Performs other duties as assigned.