Our Mission

The Auditor of State's office strives for clean, accountable and efficient
governments for those we serve, the people of Ohio.

We are professionals.  We work under objective standards, driven
by numbers and facts without regard to politics.

Every day, we work to achieve truth in a smarter, streamlined government.


Accomplishments

Working for Skinnier, Smarter Government

  • Performance Audits of State Agencies
    Auditor Yost’s first initiative after taking office was to expand the use of and access to performance audits. Senate Bill 4 requires performance audits of four state agencies each biennium and created the LEAP Fund, a revolving loan fund to expand access to performance audits for local governments and schools.
  • skinnyOhio.org Shares Best Practices and Tips for Saving Tax Dollars
    Auditor Yost created skinnyOhio.org in 2011 as an online clearinghouse of performance audit best practices for Ohio’s local governments and school districts. In 2012, the site was expanded to provide a searchable database of performance audits, as well as a Local Government Toolkit to help Ohio communities interested in working together through shared service agreements or voluntary government mergers.
  • $1 Million Saved Through Office Lease Renegotiations
    Auditor Yost renegotiated the office’s lease agreements in the downtown Columbus and seven regional offices to save Ohio’s taxpayers more than $1 million.
  • Fiscal Caution Designation an Early Warning System
    Auditor Yost worked with legislators to add a “fiscal caution” designation to Ohio’s local government fiscal distress system, providing an early warning system for financially struggling local governments
  • Breaking Down Barriers
    To help local governments do more with less, Auditor Yost worked with the General Assembly to provide local governments with the universal authority to engage in shared services agreements and simplify voluntary mergers.
  • Lake County Equipment Study
    The Auditor of State’s office conducted a first-of-its-kind study in Ohio with the Lake County Capital Equipment Utilization Study. This analysis identified underused equipment in 24 local governments, with some equipment used as little as 3 percent of the time or about one day a month. The Lake County governments are working with the Auditor of State’s office to initiate an equipment sharing agreement.
  • Reducing Audit Costs
    In 2012, Auditor Yost expanded access to Agreed-Upon Procedure (AUP) audits, which could save one in four Ohio governments as much as half of their traditional full audit costs.

Finding and Fighting Fraud

  • Separating Tax Dollars & Politics
    Auditor Yost worked with legislators to establish a misdemeanor penalty of the first degree for public officials who violate campaign finance law.
  • Investigating Tutoring Fraud
    A special audit was launched in the Columbus City School District to investigate possible misconduct by providers of the Supplemental Educational Services Program. The investigation is ongoing.
  • AOS, FBI Secure Fraud Conviction
    A pattern of problem audits surrounding former charter school treasurer Carl Shye led Auditor Yost to launch a joint investigation with the FBI into Shye’s involvement in numerous community schools across Ohio. Shye was charged with embezzling more than $470,000 and sentenced to two years in prison for his theft.
  • Food Stamp Fraud
    Auditor Yost ordered an evaluation of the SNAP Program (formerly known as food stamps) and provided ODJFS with subsequent recommendations for improvement. Yost’s review found that in 2011 alone, the State of Ohio reissued nearly 340,000 food stamp EBT cards. Since 2006, 17,000 recipients received 10 or more reissued cards.
  • School Attendance Audits
    Auditor Yost launched a statewide audit of attendance practices in Ohio’s school districts after results of an internal audit at Columbus City Schools revealed irregular attendance and enrollment practices and similar allegations surfaced at Toledo Public Schools and Lockland City Schools. The statewide audit was released on February 11, 2013. A separate special audit at Columbus City Schools is ongoing.

Auditor Yost's First Two Years PDFdownload mission and accomplishments

Updated as of February 2013