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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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.”
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.
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.