BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) – A state audit finds more than half of Louisiana’s state contracts with outside entities do not have to be approved by a centralized authority in state government – totaling nearly $6.2 billion in taxpayer dollars.

The Advocate reports the Office of State Procurement, within the Division of Administration, oversees thousands of contracts that state agencies enter into but many more are delegated out.

In all, the audit found the state had at least 14,693 contracts worth about $21 billion as of November.

OSP director Paul Holmes, in responding to the audit’s findings, defended the delegation of contract approval, noting that the office has the right to audit any contract and agencies file quarterly reports on contracts.