State Auditor Duties: What Does a State Auditor Do?

A state auditor is a position within state governments, typically designed to serve as a financial watchdog for expenditures of public funds. The role of auditor is a constitutional office, which means the position must be filled at all times per state law.

In several states, the role of auditing is shared with other state agencies, such as state departments and the office of the state comptroller. Many states have both an auditor and a comptroller, but some states, such as New York and Texas, only have comptrollers (or controllers).

The specific duties of a state auditor vary from state to state. Typically they involve:

• Financial audits: Most state auditors spend significant time reviewing public spending by the state legislature and conducting audits of state agencies.
• Performance audits: The state auditor assesses whether government programs are achieving their intended goal, and reports back to a state senate, a general assembly, or the governor.
• Public information: The office of the state auditor may prepare publicly available financial statements and a comprehensive annual financial report, which gives taxpayers a window into how state resources are spent, a practice that is standard in many states.
• Assisting local governments: In addition to auditing state funds, some state auditors (including those in Utah and Pennsylvania) work with local municipalities and school districts to analyze financial expenditures.
• Interfacing with other state agencies: As a member of the state executive branch, a state auditor may be called upon to work with a state attorney general, secretary of state, or comptroller, with the shared goal of fiscal responsibility and transparency.

State auditors are either elected by the people or appointed by other government officials. In Tennessee, for instance, the state auditor (called comptroller of the treasury) is chosen by the general assembly in a joint convention. In other states, such as Minnesota and Missouri, voters elect the auditor.

Most state auditors have a background as a certified public accountant (CPA) or at least hire a team of CPAs to conduct business to proper government auditing standards. Many civil service job opportunities also exist within the office of the state auditor, including professionals who provide technical assistance to municipalities looking to do their own audits.

The National Association of State Auditors is a professional organization and lobbying group that allows the nation's state auditors to interface, exchange ideas, and advocate policies that benefit their work.

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