Truth in Accounting’s Financial Transparency Score 2026 evaluates how effectively each state government discloses its true financial condition through audited financial reports.
States face a significant loss of federal dollars as temporary pandemic-related programs that were initiated in 2020 come to an end and national fiscal pressures rise.
Our sixteenth annual Financial State of the States (FSOS) report provides a comprehensive analysis of the fiscal health of all 50 states.
In the spirit of promoting clear and accurate fiscal information, Truth in Accounting has once again assessed the transparency of state governments’ financial reporting. While state budgets receive most of the public and media’s attention, their outcomes are detailed in each government's Annual Comprehensive Financial Report (ACFR), which is audited annually by certified public accountants. Our transparency score is based on key criteria outlining best practices, offering government officials and citizens a roadmap to enhance fiscal transparency and accountability.
KMOV ran a piece the other day reporting that the St. Louis comptroller claims the city has a $42.2 million surplus.
I’m skeptical, and you should be too.
Our fifteenth annual Financial State of the States (FSOS) report provides a comprehensive analysis of the fiscal health of all 50 states.
Truth in Accounting has once again created a transparency score for the financial reporting by state governments to encourage the publication of transparent and accurate government financial information.
Now Available
Our annual report on state fiscal health. Debt among the states improved slightly. Going from $1.2 trillion down to $938.6 billion.
What happened?
How did your state do? Read the full report below.
https://www.truthinaccounting.org/news/detail/financial-state-of-the-states-2023
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Every year, for the past fourteen years, Truth in Accounting has released its Financial State of the States report which examines the financial status of the fifty states. This year our report was released on October 11, 2023. One of the data sets we reviewed is the auditors’ reports. Did the state receive an unmodified report for their 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.
"Sobering Statistics
The study, called Financial State of the Cities 2023, was done by Truth in Accounting. It has some difficult truths: 50 out of 75 cities could not pay their bills; the combined debt for all 75 cities is $267 billion. Moreover, elected officials didn’t include the cost of government in this figure, instead pushing it onto future taxpayers."
This year's report found that 31 states did not have enough money to pay all of their bills.
To encourage the publication of transparent and accurate government financial information, Truth in Accounting has created a transparency score for financial reporting by the states.
By Jared Walczak, includes “At the federal level, the state and local tax (SALT) deduction has emerged as a hot-button political issue ever since the deduction was capped at $10,000 under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) of 2017. The SALT deduction has defenders as well as detractors, but a peculiar inversion of it—a state deduction for federal taxes paid—exists in only six states.”
By Corianna Baier, includes “Many people struggled with their financial circumstances and fiscal health in 2020. Based on a new report, it seems that state governments experienced similar trouble. Every year, Truth in Accounting, a nonprofit committed to transparent government financing, releases its Financial State of the States report. … Missouri is in that majority. …”
PRESS RELEASE - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Truth in Accounting's twelfth annual Financial State of the States report, a nationwide analysis of the most recent state government financial information.
By Wayne D’Orio, includes “As the new school year ramps up, much of the national attention is focused on mask mandates and how aspects of U.S. history will be taught. But away from the spotlight, the issue of school choice is quietly gaining acceptance, with seven states passing legislation this year that assists parents in at least partially funding their children’s education outside of public schools. …”
Includes “To balance this budget as required by the Missouri State Constitution, a total of $4,172,000 in one-time revenues from the federal American Recovery Plan are contemplated for use in the General Fund. … To be direct, this budget is making use of one-time revenues to bridge a continued structural imbalance in the General Fund and to accurately budget for the Stay Well fund, the newly re-established Health Department, and continued operation of the intra- and inter-city transit system.”
By Corianna Baker, includes “… All the cities on this list, including Kansas City and St. Louis, have balanced budget requirements, meant to ‘prevent elected officials from shifting the burden of paying for current-year services to future-year taxpayers.”