Financial Transparency Score Report

Our new report analyzes how transparent state governments are with their finances.

Financial State of the Union

In honor of Tax Day, we've released our latest Financial State of the Union report. Our nation’s true debt has climbed to $158.6 trillion, burdening each federal taxpayer with $974,000.

Petition: Ensure Comprehensive Financial Reporting of Federal Spending

Sign our petition to bring full transparency to federal financial management. Let’s make sure our government is accountable to the people it serves.

US Published National Debt

$

The Truth

$

Each Taxpayer's Share: $917,000

Explore our database at https://www.data-z.org
 
  • Financial State of the Union 2025

    According to the most recent audited Financial Report of the U.S. Government, our nation’s true debt has climbed to $158.6 trillion, burdening each federal taxpayer with $974,000.

     
  •  
  • Financial State of the Cities 2025

    The Financial State of the Cities report found that 54 cities did not have enough money to pay their bills. Each city has some form of a balanced budget requirement, but this new report shows that cities have not met the intent of their requirement and have pushed costs onto future taxpayers.

     
  • Financial State of the States 2024

    Our fifteenth annual Financial State of the States (FSOS) report provides a comprehensive analysis of the fiscal health of all 50 states.

     
  • Data-Z (database for state and city data)

    Create your own chart with more than 700 data variables at the federal, state, and city levels.

     
more publications
read more in the news
  • Nevada Still Extremely Late on 2023 Financial Report Amid Statewide Cyber Outage

    August 28, 2025

    Nevada has become the last state in the nation to release its annual financial report for fiscal year 2023, which ended more than 780 days ago. While Illinois finally published its overdue report earlier this month, Nevada continues to lag, as we are missing two years of data.

    To make matters worse, Nevada’s state websites and phone systems have been down for several days due to a widespread cyberattack. This outage has blocked public access to crucial government services. It also makes it impossible for our researchers to verify the state’s financial position in the lead-up to the release of our Financial State of the States report. 

  • Illinois Sets a New National Record: 774 Days Late with Financial Reporting

    August 21, 2025

    Illinois has finally released its audited Annual Comprehensive Financial Report (ACFR).

    The bad news:  It’s for the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2023.

    According to the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA), states should release these reports within 180 days of the fiscal year’s end. Illinois blew past that deadline—releasing its 2023 report a staggering 774 days late, setting a new national record.
     

  • Illinois' Chronic Tardiness

    August 8, 2025

    Illinois’ chronic delay in publishing its annual financial reports is more than just a bureaucratic hiccup. It’s a breakdown in fiscal accountability. The state’s fiscal year 2023 ended over two years ago, and yet that report has never been released. Fiscal year 2024’s report isn’t available either. In the corporate world, “timely” generally means publishing audited financial statements within 90 days. The Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) standard for governments is more lenient—180 days—but Illinois has blown far past even that generous benchmark. This level of delay would be unacceptable in nearly any other context where stakeholders rely on financial transparency.

  • Where, Oh Where Are the State Financial Reports?

    July 31, 2025

    At Truth in Accounting, we are wrapping up our annual Financial State of the States report—an in-depth look at each state’s financial condition based on their audited financial statements. This year, as in years past, we are relying on each state’s 2024 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report (ACFR).

    But here’s the problem: several states have yet to issue their ACFRs, and time is running out.

view all stories here

Get this in your e-mail. Subscribe below.

Subscribe

Receive our newsletter, updates, and important research in your e-mail box.

 

Products and Resources