From the Institute for Truth in Accounting…
Watch Sheila on Chicago CBS 2’s Monsters & Money
Today, Sheila Weinberg, founder & CEO of the Institute for Truth in Accounting, was a guest on Chicago’s CBS Channel 2 show, Monsters & Money in the Morning. You can watch her appearance by clicking here.
Sheila joined Terry Savage, a board member of the Institute, and the other Monsters & Money hosts, Mike North, Dan Jiggetts and Mike Hegedus, in a discussion of the accounting shenanigans used by governmental officials to pretending balanced budgets while states go billions of dollars in debt.
To provide greater disclosure in state budget processes, the Truth in Accounting Act has been introduced in the Illinois House by Rep. Mike Tryon and in the Florida house by Rep. Tom Grady. The legislation calls for the calculation of the state’s true financial condition, and requires estimates of the long term financial consequences of current budget decisions. These improvements to the budgetary process would provide the public with the full cost of government employees’ compensation, including retirement benefits.
Truth in Accounting Act of 2010 Introduces in Springfield
This past winter, the Institute worked with State Representative Mike Tryon (64th District) to draft legislation which would improve the budget and financial reporting processes of Illinois state government. The resulting Truth in Accounting Act of 2010 was proposed to the state legislature on February 3rd.
Model legislation of the Truth in Accounting Act can be found on www.truthinaccounting.org.
Highlights of this proposed legislation include:
- The state’s Comprehensive Annual Financial Report will be required to be produced within six months of the state’s fiscal year end;
- State budget calculations will be required to clearly distinguish state revenues earned from other funds used to balance the budget, such as loan proceeds;
- State budget calculations will be required to identify all costs incurred during the budget year, including those which will be paid in future years; and
- State budget documents will be required to disclose the long-term financial implications of budget decisions and the inter-period borrowing to fund operating expenses.
The Institute is partnering with the Illinois chapter of Americans for Prosperity, who will promote this and other pieces of legislation that will bring greater transparency and accountability to the state’s budget process. ‘Only with a true picture of our total expenditures and revenues can we begin to discuss solutions to our financial woes, said Joe Calomino, AFP of Illinois State Director. ‘Illinois needs budgetary reforms now and FACT based budgeting is the first step.’