New independent analysis from the Reason Foundation reinforces a message Truth in Accounting has documented for years: many of America’s state and local governments look solvent on paper while their audited balance sheets tell a different story.

In November 2016, Baltimore voters did something unusual: they wrote an affordable-housing lockbox into the City Charter. The Affordable Housing Trust Fund [AHTF] was supposed to take a dedicated stream of tax money and turn it into housing for the city’s lowest-income households. 

The Charter even said how the public would know whether the city was keeping that bargain. Article I, Section 14 of the Charter gave the Commission two separate jobs, not one. It must “submit an annual report to the Mayor and City Council on the activities and usage of the funds, including tenure (rental and homeownership), income level served, and unit size (number of bedrooms), and make the report available to the public.” Separately, it must “ensure an audit of the fund every four years by a certified public accounting firm.” The four-year audit does not pause the annual report. The Commission must account for the money every year and have an independent CPA review the fund every four years. Both obligations run at the same time.

Thank you for your service to Maryland. I’m a CPA who started the nonpartisan organization Truth in Accounting (TIA) over 20 years ago with the sole mission to reveal governments’ true financial condition. TIA has analyzed Maryland’s audited Annual Comprehensive Financial Reports since 2009 and was recently engaged by local media outlets to review the state's audited financial statements. And because the Office of the Comptroller is a signatory to the accuracy and completeness of the data presented in those reports, we have questions we believe Maryland taxpayers deserve answered. Please respond by Tuesday, August 25 at noon.

Baltimore’s 2025 Single Audit points to a broader problem than any one accounting error or compliance issue. Across the city’s finances, auditors repeatedly found the same underlying weaknesses: late reviews of account balances, fragmented responsibilities across departments, weak monitoring, and internal controls that failed to catch problems before year-end. Those breakdowns affected everything from cash and grant reporting to utility billing and cybersecurity.

Truth in Accounting, a nonpartisan nonprofit that has analyzed government financial reports since 2002, today announced a joint effort with The Baltimore Sun and Sinclair Broadcast Group stations FOX45 in Baltimore and WJLA in Washington, D.C., including the Spotlight on Maryland investigative unit. The collaboration will examine Maryland’s finances from the State House to every county and Baltimore City over time, using governments’ own audited numbers, not campaign talking points.

Georgia’s 2025 statewide audit identified recurring weaknesses in financial reporting, accounting systems, cash reconciliations, information technology (IT) controls, and oversight across multiple agencies. While many errors were corrected before the state’s financial statements were finalized, auditors found repeated instances where the agencies’ internal controls failed to catch significant mistakes until the audit began.

Delaware’s 2025 Single Audit identified recurring problems across multiple state agencies, including weaknesses in financial reporting, payroll oversight, proper documentation, and federal reporting. While the report does not conclude that fraud occurred, it does show how missing records, late reviews, unsupported reports, and inconsistent internal controls can make it harder for the state to prove that taxpayer and federal dollars were managed properly.

At Truth in Accounting, we believe that transparency and accountability in government finances are a cornerstone for an informed electorate. That’s why we’re enthusiastic about David Cotton’s recent article for the Association of Government Accountants, which takes a hard look at the shortcomings of Single Audits in uncovering fraud, waste, and abuse involving federal dollars. This is particularly timely in light of the recent and alarming fraud in Minnesota, which we have reported on before.

The Financial Accounting Standards Board’s (FASB) new guide on Financial Statement Location Dimensions is meant to enhance corporate transparency through better XBRL tagging. Its intended purpose is to demonstrate how structured data can clarify where items are reported, reducing ambiguity for users. Time will tell.

Truth in Accounting (TIA) welcomes the bipartisan introduction of the Protecting Retirement Opportunities and Maintaining Income Security for Everyone (PROMISE) Act by Senators Cassidy, Durbin, Tillis, Kaine, and colleagues. As the Social Security Trust Fund faces depletion in 2032—with an automatic 22% benefit cut looming without action—this legislation creates a much-needed procedural framework to force congressional debate and a vote on long-term solvency.

However, any meaningful solution must go beyond process. True solvency requires full accrual accounting that honestly reflects the enormous scale of Social Security’s unfunded promises.

Colorado's 2025 Single Audit identified 48 findings across state agencies, highlighting recurring weaknesses in financial reporting, cybersecurity, internal controls, and oversight of federal grant programs. While auditors noted that agencies had made progress in some areas, they also found that many longstanding problems remained unresolved.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed Illinois’ eighth consecutive “balanced” budget for FY2027, a record $55.9 billion plan (the largest in state history). He framed it as responsible, affordability-focused governance amid federal headwinds. This claim relies on misleading accounting gimmicks that obscure Illinois’ true fiscal picture. Here’s the full truth.

Truth in Accounting (TIA) applauds the steady global shift toward accrual-based financial reporting and budgeting, as highlighted in the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) and the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) International Public Sector Financial Accountability Index 2025 Status Report.