Brentwood residents may not need to wait much longer for results of the state audit of the city's books.

Missouri State Auditor Media Director Spence Jackson said Wednesday the Brentwood audit will be "ready to go early sometime next year."

The audit has taken almost 11 months, when it was originally estimated at five to six. The one-year anniversary of the start of the audit will be Jan. 17.

Spence said the length of time has nothing specifically to do with Brentwood. The office has 147 audits to get out this year.

"We have a very heavy workload and a small staff to get through all those audits," he said. "We'd rather take a little longer and do a good job and give the community a very thorough audit as apposed to just rushing something through that really misses a lot of things.

Follow Maplewood-Brentwood Patch on Twitter | Like us on Facebook | Sign up for our newsletter

Two Brentwood residents conducted a petition drive in Summer 2011 to have the city's books audited by the state auditor's office. The residents gathered more than 1,000 signatures. The petition drive followed two financial scandals in Brentwood.

Jackson said when the audit is complete, state auditors will either come to Brentwood for a public presentation or will give the city and the media a copy of the final audit.

Also in Patch:

• State Audit of Brentwood Started Last Week
• Residents Seek State Audit of Brentwood's Finances
• State Auditor Presentation Planned at Brentwood Meeting
• State Audit Presentation Draws Brentwood Residents to City Hall