January 25 – Proposed name change for Indiana’s Office of Chartered Accountants is more in line with duty but requires further consideration | Condition

During her campaign last year, Klutz floated the idea of ​​changing her office’s name to Comptroller — a change several other state governments have made over the years. The proposal has the support of the General Assembly and is included in the biennial budget proposed by Governor Eric Holcomb.

But the Office of Comptroller – along with the Secretary of State and Treasurer – is enshrined in the state constitution, meaning a simple name change is likely to require a constitutional change.

“I feel like I’ve explained a lot about my role in the last six years… the term ‘auditor’ has changed over the last few hundred years,” Klutz, who has previously conducted audits in both the public and private sectors, said . “I’ve definitely given this a lot of thought, and we’re trying to change it to say ‘Comptroller’ to more accurately reflect our duties.”

In practice, the Comptroller has the responsibility of balancing the state’s checkbook and paying state employees – ensuring that government money spent goes to the right place and reporting it through the state’s transparency portal.

But few states run their accounting offices the same way — and there’s not even agreement on what the office should be called.

Some states delegate tax inspection duties to a controller, comptroller, or examiner, names used somewhat interchangeably with auditors. But other states pack those duties into other offices — like the Treasury Department or even the Secretary of State.

Klutz claims that the Comptroller’s Office should remain separate from other agencies because it establishes a system of checks and balances. However, some states do not elect a chartered accountant at all – or the equivalent of a chartered accountant.

About half of the states hold elections for the role, and two other states—Maine and Tennessee—elect their auditors through the state legislature. In the remaining states, the governor appoints someone for the role and the legislature confirms the appointment.

Other states have both an elected and an appointed auditor, including Minnesota, Utah, and Washington. These heads of state divide their duties, with one examining local government units or agencies and the other evaluating the state’s financial management.

Indiana’s auditor does not review government spending to detect fraud, but acts as an accountant for the state, reviewing budgets and managing payroll.

State ballot initiatives, or referendums, allow any resident to vote on a proposal in a more direct form of democracy. Several states have passed marijuana reform under this procedure, including Michigan, bypassing their state legislatures.

But Indiana generally doesn’t allow that — except for local school funding referendums.

In order to change the Indiana Constitution, the language must pass two consecutive general assemblies — meaning an election must be held between the two — before it appears on the ballot the following year. A resolution proposing to change Indiana’s constitutional language and guarantee bail faces the same steep road this year.

Since her title of “auditor” is enshrined in the state constitution, Klutz’s office prepared for the lengthy process of changing the constitution. But lawmaker Klutz consulted concerned that putting the name change before voters would be confusing, and many might believe the referendum would eliminate the office of comptroller entirely.

As an alternative, Klutz said, the Indiana State Budget Board has proposed including the name change in the budget, which is guaranteed to pass in some form.

The state auditor is officially known as the state auditor. After June 30, the state auditor will use the title “state auditor” when conducting state business, in all contracts, on business cards, on stationery and, if necessary, with other means of communication. Changing the title in this subsection does not invalidate any document or transaction made on behalf of the state auditor,” the budgetary language said. “After June 30, 2023, when enacting agency regulations, state agencies will refer to the Auditor of State as the State Comptroller, and references to the Auditor of State in the Indiana Administrative Code shall be deemed references to the State Comptroller.”

However, Klutz said the Office of the Comptroller would still appear on the ballot and go through Indiana’s primary congressional process because both elections must comply with the Indiana Constitution. Klutz compared it to a company that “does business as” under a name other than its legal name.

Other states have successfully changed their auditors to comptrollers or controllers through ballots, such as Illinois in 1973 and Idaho in 1994. Both states have a simpler process than Indiana.

Still, Klutz hopes that a name change, while not changing the constitutional office of Comptroller, will at least provide a more accurate description of their duties.

“I’m trying to quell some of this confusion; Of course I don’t want to do more,” said Klutz. “My hope is that if we move forward with this change, I’ll at least set an expectation that I don’t scrutinize governments or individuals.”