By Kim Jarrett (The Center Square), includes “Vermont is one of only 22 states that scored above 80 on a scale of 100 in Truth in Accounting’s (TIA) latest report on financial transparency. … Vermont received a score of 56 last year from TIA. Only 25 out of 50 points were received in the auditor’s opinion category in 2020. ” 

By Victor Skinner (The Center Square), includes “Truth in Accounting CEO Sheila Weinberg told The Center Square that Pennsylvania lost points for using prior year pension numbers, a combined $18 billion in assets and liabilities in confusing ‘deferred inflows and outflows’ accounts, and the way officials report liabilities for the Public School Employees’ Retirement System.”

By Marc Joffe, includes “The Pension Benefits, Design, and Funding Task Force created by the Vermont General Assembly is expected to release its findings in December.  … Truth in Accounting recently ranked Vermont 43rd of the 50 states based on its measure of ‘Taxpayer Surplus or Burden’ with a per capita burden of $24,000. ”

Includes “Illinois earned a score of 56 out of a possible 100 points in a ranking by the Chicago-based policy institute Truth in Accounting (TIA), putting the state in 46th place among the 50 states. The TIA study is based on states’ fiscal year 2020 financial reports, meaning that the time period covered the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. ”

Includes “Truth in Accounting published its annual “Financial State of the States 2021,” and the good news is that New Jersey broke its streak of six consecutive years as the most indebted state.  The very bad news is that despite the gusher of federal COVID-relief money New Jersey ranked 49th, with an average debt burden of $58,300 per taxpayer. ”

By Sarah Durand, includes “Truth in Accounting, a nationwide organization that researches and reports on government financial data to improve transparency, looked at each state’s annual comprehensive financial report. Based on their scoring system, which includes receiving a clean opinion from an independent auditor - an area where the commonwealth failed - only six states placed lower in their transparency rating.”

By Kevin Bessler (The Center Square), includes “… The nonprofit organization Truth in Accounting released its Financial Transparency Score report for financial reporting by the states and gave Illinois a score of 56 out of a possible 100. Only four states scored lower. … Truth in Accounting CEO Sheila Weinberg said some governments like Illinois are promising future pensions without a funding mechanism or transparency. …”

By Madison Hirneisen, includes “… This expected reduction in the rate of return means that some employees will have to contribute more to their pension funds because the fund expects to earn less from its investment portfolio. … Bill Bergman, the director of research at Truth in Accounting, said the move by CalPERS to require increased contributions on the part of employees is a marginal solution to a much bigger problem. …”

By Courtney Buble, includes “On Monday, the Defense Department completed its annual audit required by the 1990 Chief Financial Officers Act for the fourth time. … The financial watchdog group Truth in Accounting has issued reports on the past three audits. Following their most recent analysis, published in March, Bill Bergman,  …” (Note: We will produce an initial analysis of the audit results soon.)

By Sydnie Henry, includes “On Tuesday, the citizen organization Truth in Accounting (TIA) published the transparency grades states earned during Fiscal Year 2020. While Texas did not earn the worst score, state officials have room for improvement when it comes to being financially transparent with citizens. …”

Truth in Accounting / Globe Newswire story, includes “… Overall the 50 states’ transparency scores worsened compared to the previous years. … Only 37 states’ financial reports received clean audit opinions, which is down 10 states from last year. … No states published their reports within 100 days of their fiscal year end  …”

Page collecting 100 articles by or about Truth in Accounting in recent months. 

By Bill Bergman, includes “… Trillions of dollars are at stake over the next decade, as well as control of Congress and the Electoral College. … It is difficult to find anyone expressing concern about Census overcounts — perhaps not surprisingly, given how money and power attach to these numbers.”