State auditor

The mode of selecting the state auditor or comptroller varies among the many states and territories. In 24 states, the state auditor or comptroller is a constitutional officer elected by the voters or the state legislature for specified terms of office. In the remaining states, the state auditor or comptroller is appointed by and serves at the pleasure of the governor or the relevant state legislature.[1] In those states where the state auditor or comptroller is appointed by the governor, the appointment is subject to the confirmation of the state senate. For example, the state auditor or comptroller in California, Idaho, Illinois, Minnesota, Nevada, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Washington is elected by the voters. On the other hand, the state auditor or comptroller may be appointed by the state legislature as is the case in Colorado, Georgia, Michigan, and Wisconsin or, as circumstances dictate for Maine and Tennessee, be elected by the state legislature sitting in joint session.[2]

Several states have both an elected auditor or comptroller serving alongside another auditor that is appointed by and reports exclusively to the legislature. Government auditing arrangements in Washington reflect this model: a state auditor that is an elected constitutional officer exists alongside an appointed legislative auditor. Under such circumstances, the respective jurisdictions of the aforementioned officials is such so that their responsibilities complement one another. In the case of Washington for instance, the state auditor conducts independent audits and investigations of the fiscal condition of local governments and state agencies alike while the legislative auditor evaluates state agency financial management and performance in support of the legislature's oversight functions.[3][4] This division of government auditing responsibility is in keeping with two core principles of state and local government auditing in the United States:

1. A state auditor or comptroller elected by the people is functionally independent from all other public officials and is therefore duly empowered to superintend and verify the condition of public accounts, funds, and resources without fear of reprisal. Barring other constitutional remedies, only the voters can remove and replace an elected state auditor or comptroller. This institutional independence combats corruption and promotes government accountability directly to the electorate in the spirit of Jacksonian democracy.[5]
2. A legislative auditor subject to the direction and supervision of the state legislature ensures that the legislature, which appropriates funds and establishes program goals in public policy, will ultimately review program expenditures and results. Thus, state government is accountable to the people through their elected representatives.[6]

Supervising the fiscal concerns of government are the primary business of America's state auditors and comptrollers. Usually, state auditors conduct financial, compliance, or performance audits of public accounts whereas state comptrollers are charged with operating the state financial management system, administering payroll, disbursing funds, enforcing internal control, and financial reporting, among related responsibilities.[1] The elected state auditors and comptrollers in Alabama, Arkansas, Indiana, Montana, New Jersey, New York, South Dakota, Tennessee, and Wyoming are the exceptions to this rule. Of note, New York combines the normally disparate financial management functions of government accounting and government auditing into one office. Similarly, the functional responsibilities of the Alabama state auditor are limited to periodic post-audits of the state treasurer's and Department of Finance's accounts and to accounting for and inventorying state personal property. Montana's state auditor does not even audit public funds or maintain fiscal control over the state treasury. Rather, he or she regulates Montana's securities and insurance industries.

For the majority of states where the state auditor or comptroller does indeed audit public accounts, their scope of authority encompasses all state agencies. In a plurality of these same states, the auditor's or comptroller's jurisdiction also extends to local governments.[1] Government auditing arrangements are unique in Minnesota, West Virginia, and New Jersey however with respect to the fact that their respective state auditors and comptroller only audit local governments. In the case of the West Virginia state auditor and the New Jersey state comptroller, the former concurrently serves as the state's financial controller and the latter functions as an inspector general for the entire executive branch of state government.[7][8] Meanwhile, the Minnesota state auditor, who is elected, is the only state auditor or comptroller in the United States to exclusively supervise and audit the fiscal concerns of local governments. In fact, some 4,800 local governments which altogether spend some $40 billion annually come under the state auditor's purview.[9] A separate legislative auditor appointed by and reporting to the state legislature audits and evaluates financial management and performance of Minnesota's 150 state agencies.[10]

As independently chosen fiscal officers, America's state auditors and comptrollers exist to safeguard public funds and resources from waste, fraud, abuse, misappropriation, and maladministration. In short, their work combats corruption and keeps government accountable for the efficient and effective use of tax dollars. Nevertheless, their accounting and auditing functions are frequently put to use for connected purposes. In Colorado for instance, the state auditor reports on the effectiveness of health exchanges and marijuana legalization. Meanwhile, California's state auditor is involved in the redistricting process.

State auditors and comptrollers in the United States - whether elected or appointed - are organized nationally as part of the National State Auditors' Association and the National Association of State Comptrollers. Both associations are housed within the National Association of State Auditors, Comptrollers and Treasurers.[2]

• State constitutional officer
• Governor (United States)
• Lieutenant governor (United States)
• State attorney general
• State treasurer
• Secretary of state (U.S. state government)
• List of U.S. statewide elected officials

• Auditors and Comptroller 2018