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The Minnesota State Auditor is a constitutional officer in the executive branch of the U.S. State of Minnesota. The State Auditor is charged with overseeing more than $20 billion spent annually by local governments in Minnesota. The State Auditor does this by performing audits of local government financial statements and by reviewing documents, data, reports and complaints reported to the Office. The financial information collected is analyzed and serves as the basis of statutory reports issued by the Office of the State Auditor. The State Auditor is elected and serves a four-year term.
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History
The State Auditor's office has existed since before Minnesota Territory became the state of Minnesota in 1858. Before 1973 the State Auditor approved all executive branch expenditures in advance. In 1973 the responsibilities of the State Auditor were reshuffled. The State Auditor shifted to its current role, which was previously handled by the Public Examiner, an office appointed by the governor. The Public Examiner's position was eliminated at this time.
Territory
The term of the State Auditor was originally three years. In 1883 voters approved a constitutional amendment changing it to four years.