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“While other organizations have compared the states’ unfunded retirement liabilities, ONLY Truth in Accounting has determined the overall financial condition of every state.” Former U.S. Comptroller General David Walker
David Walker will be our keynote speaker in Denver on April 19, 2024.
Did your state receive a clean audit opinion this year?
By Christine Kuglin
Every year for the past 14 years, Truth in Accounting has released its Financial State of the States report, which examines the financial status of the 50 states. This year, our report was released on Oct. 11. One of the data sets we reviewed is the auditors' reports. Did the state receive an unmodified report for its Annual Comprehensive Financial Report? Last year, I wrote an article for Accounting Today explaining which states did not meet auditing standards for 2021. This is a follow-up to that article.
To review why audit reports are significant and to understand the various types of reports that can be issued, let's begin with an explanation. An audit report represents an independent evaluation of an entity's financial records conducted by a CPA firm. If the auditor's assessment concludes that the financial information is fairly presented by management, an unmodified opinion is given. READ MORE HERE.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k2d2AWraBsk&feature=youtu.be
ERISA
The Rule Government Doesn't Follow
One law worth understanding plays a significant role in regulating pensions: the Employee Retirement Income Security Act or ERISA.
So, why doesn't the government follow it?
Its primary purpose is to protect the retirement benefits of workers who participate in private-sector pension and welfare benefit plans. The law excluded plans established or maintained by governmental entities,churches for their employees, or plans which are maintained solely to comply with applicable workers compensation, unemployment or disability laws.” Read more here.
MEET an INTERN
Your support makes it possible for TIA to nurture a thriving internship program that offers students a comprehensive educational journey, immersing them in the complexities of government accounting. Your generosity is shaping a better future.
Thank you!
Morgan White
J.D. Candidate 2023
Morgan is a third-year law student at the University of Denver Sturm College of Law pursuing his J.D. and a certificate in the Corporate and Commercial Law program. He grew up in Bellevue, Washington, and graduated from Western Washington University with a bachelor's degree in political science.
Morgan has a part-time position at Podoll & Podoll, where he does work on both complex commercial litigation and securities litigation. Morgan is also a student contributor to the Race to the Bottom corporate and commercial law blog at the Sturm College of Law. He is interested in corporate law, generally with a focus on securities, cryptocurrency assets, and commercial litigation.
The Truth in Accounting message and work is sustained through our generous donors. Because of this support, we can present at conferences like these nationwide. Allowing us to educate and inform a more significant number of people. Thank You!
Christine Kuglin, Director of the TIA Project at DU, will present on XBRL at this conference.
https://abfm.org/annual-conference/
Data-Z, it's Free!
Do you want to know the total popular vote in your state for the Democrats, Republicans, or Libertarians? It's on Data-Z.
Do you want to know how many homeless people are in your state? It's on Data-Z.
Do you want to know the median household income of your state or how many women of college age are in your state? It's on Data-Z.
Do you want to compare Medicaid spending between states? It's on Data-Z
Data-Z is our government resource site. We continuously aggregate over 700 data points from government reports, allowing site users to perform specific analyses.
The site surrounds our research with tools and external data for context, enabling stakeholders to understand their government's overall condition better. The site also contains tools ranging from graphs to regression, ranking, and compound growth analysis, as demonstrated in the graph below.
Check it out!
And see our latest data updates here.
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