The 2020 Financial State of the States report surveys the fiscal health of the 50 states prior to the coronavirus pandemic. This data is released today by Truth in Accounting (TIA), a think tank that analyzes government financial reporting.
A stress test analysis of Montana’s two largest public pension systems shows that reforms adopted by state lawmakers in 2013 have had a significant positive impact but that additional policy changes may be needed if future investment returns fall below the plans’ average annual target of 7.6%.
How large could the shortfall in state government general revenues be, amidst the coronavirus and related crises?
As the cost of health care climbs, Montana’s insurance watchdog is weighing whether hospitals’ defense that their prices are designed to cover the cost of business rings true.
Glacier County’s audit report lists 20 findings for the two-year period. Of those, 13 are defined as “material weaknesses” in internal control.
“… The Legislature passed 27 joint resolutions for interim legislative studies and lawmakers were asked to rank them in order of importance. The tax policy review received the highest ranking by far among the 88 lawmakers who returned surveys. Sixty-two legislators did not respond. Legislative staffers say they usually receive 100 to 110 responses.”
“DesRosier said the county has not recovered from an embezzlement that occurred about 12-13 years ago, which was discovered when a county treasurer died. … The audit also notes that county revenues have not kept up with expenditures, creating negative cash balances and the county cannot be sure it can continue to provide services at current levels or meet its operating expenses.”
Annual forum this November 6, intro includes “The annual event is an opportunity for accounting professionals and banking supervisors to interact and discuss current accounting and auditing issues related to banking. …The target audience for this event includes financial officers, accountants and internal auditors associated with state member banks, bank holding companies and savings and loan holding companies. Additionally, the Forum is appropriate for external auditors, outsourced internal auditors and consultants providing accounting services to financial institutions.”
How should Montana fix its the $700 million per year problem that two of its public pensions are estimated to cost the state? One representative has some suggestions.
Just a month ago, as friends and families prepared to gather for the holiday season, the men and women at the U.S. Census Bureau were busy releasing their latest annual estimates of population changes across the United States.
Twenty-five states are currently facing a revenue shortfall, which is a marked improvement over our report from last year, when 31 states were in deficit.
By Jonathan Shorman, includes “… “The Plains region is by far in the best financial health in the country,” said Sheila Weinberg, Truth in Accounting CEO.
Interview of Tom McKinney, former US Army Auditor, and Bill Bergman, Truth in Accounting, re: financial status of federal government retirement programs.
Enacted state budgets for fiscal 2016 represent a sixth consecutive year of spending and revenue growth, according to this report.
What does a fair tax system look like? Which states actually have the fairest tax systems?
From 2009 to 2012, North Carolina's unfunded state pension liabilities skyrocketed by nearly 700%. That's the findings of new data released by the Institute for Truth in Accounting's State Data Lab project.
Amidst some disenchantment with both major political parties, the chart above shows, when looking across the 50 states, the share of votes earned by candidates that were not either Democratic or Republican has fallen significantly for U.S. House of Representative elections since 2000.
When Greece ran into financial trouble three years ago, the problem soon spread. Many observers were mystified. How could such a littlecountry set off a continental crisis? … Americans in virtuous states and cities will be just as furious about their tax dollars flowing to Detroit and other distressed places as Germans are about euros going to southern Europe. But the truth is that America’s whole public sector still operates in a financialnever-never land. Uncle Sam offers an array of “entitlements” that there is no real plan to pay for. Barack Obama is on his way to joining George W. Bush as a president who did nothing about that, while Republicans in Congress imagine they can balance the books without raising taxes. The government spends more on health care than many rich countries and still does not cover everyone. America’s dynamic private sector is carrying on its back an unreformed Leviathan. Detroit is merely a symptom of that.
The Institute for Truth in Accounting has prepared final calculations for state financial conditions for the three years ended in fiscal year 2011. Preliminary estimates issued in November have been revised, where necessary, to reflect more complete source material and a final audit of data quality.