Indiana State Auditor

Auditor of State of Indiana
Seal of Indiana
Incumbent Elise Nieshalla since December 1, 2023
Appointer	Indiana electorate
Term length	4 years
Inaugural holder	William H. Lilly November 16, 1816
Formation	Indiana Constitution 1816
Succession	Fifth
Salary	$145,876 [1]
Website	http://www.in.gov/auditor

The Indiana auditor of state (doing business as "the Indiana state comptroller") is a constitutional officer in the executive branch of government of the U.S. state of Indiana. Fifty-seven individuals have occupied the office of auditor of state since statehood. The incumbent is Elise Nieshalla, a Republican. ^[a]

Election and term of office

The auditor of state is elected to a four-year term of office. The occupant of the office is term limited and cannot serve more than eight years out of any twelve-year period. ^[3]

Powers and duties

The auditor of state, officially doing business as "the state comptroller", functions as the chief financial officer for the whole of state government. In terms of financial accounting, the auditor of state creates and operates the statewide accounting system, maintains a record of revenues, expenditures and balances by state fund, collects debts owed the state, and prepares various financial reports, including the state of Indiana's annual comprehensive financial report. As it concerns disbursements of public money, the auditor of state examines and settles claims by and against the state, issues warrants on the state treasury in payment of claims approved, authorizes electronic funds transfers, and administers payroll to over 33,000 state employees. The auditor of state is also responsible for supervising county finances and distributing property tax revenue to counties, cities, towns, schools, and other local units of government. ^{[4] [5]}

List of auditors

   Democratic-Republican    Democratic    Whig    Republican

Territorial auditors

#	Name	Took office	Left office	Party	Hometown	Notes
1	Peter Jones	September 5, 1805	1810		Knox Co.	[6]
2	William Prince	April 13, 1810	1813	Democratic-Republican	Vincennes, Indiana	[7]
3	General Washington Johnston	January 20, 1813	1813		Vincennes, Indiana	[6]
4	William Prince	February 8, 1813	1813	Democratic-Republican	Vincennes, Indiana	[6]
5	Davis Floyd	June 15, 1813	1814	Democratic-Republican	Corydon, Indiana

State auditors

#	Name	Took office	Left office	Party	Hometown	Notes
1	William H. Lilly	November 16, 1816	February 17, 1828	Democratic-Republican	Corydon, Indiana	[8]
2	Benjamin L. Blythe	April 5, 1828	December 4, 1828	Democratic-Republican	Brookville, Indiana
3	Morris Morris	January 21, 1829	January 24, 1844	Whig	Indianapolis, Indiana
4	Horatio J. Harris	January 24, 1844	January 25, 1847	Democratic	Delphi, Indiana
5	Douglass Maguire	January 25, 1847	January 25, 1850	Whig	Indianapolis, Indiana
6	Erastus W. H. Ellis	January 25, 1850	January 25, 1853	Democratic	Elkhart County, Indiana
7	John P. Dunn	January 25, 1853	January 25, 1855	Democratic	Dearborn County, Indiana
8	Hiram E. Talbott	January 25, 1855	January 26, 1857	Republican	Putnam County, Indiana
9	John W. Dodd	January 26, 1857	January 25, 1861	Democratic	Grant County, Indiana
10	Albert Lange	January 25, 1861	January 26, 1863	Republican	Terre Haute, Indiana
11	Joseph Ristine	January 26, 1863	January 25, 1865	Democratic	Fountain County, Indiana
12	Thomas B. McCarthy	January 25, 1865	January 25, 1869	Republican	Wabash, Indiana
13	John D. Evans	January 25, 1869	January 25, 1871	Republican	Noblesville, Indiana
14	John C. Schoemaker	January 25, 1871	January 25, 1873	Democratic	Cannelton, Indiana
15	James A. Wildman	January 25, 1873	January 25, 1875	Republican	Kokomo, Indiana
16	Ebenezer Henderson	January 25, 1875	January 25, 1879	Democratic	Martinsville, Indiana
17	Mahlon D. Manson	January 25, 1879	January 25, 1881	Democratic	Crawfordsville, Indiana	[9]
18	Edward H. Wolfe	January 25, 1881	January 25, 1883	Republican	Rushville, Indiana
19	James H. Rice	January 25, 1883	January 25, 1887	Democratic	New Albany, Indiana
20	Bruce Carr	January 25, 1887	January 25, 1891	Republican	Orange County, Indiana
21	John O. Henderson	January 25, 1891	January 25, 1895	Democratic	Kokomo, Indiana
22	Americus C. Daily	January 25, 1895	January 25, 1899	Republican	Boone County, Indiana
23	William H. Hart	January 25, 1899	January 25, 1903	Republican	Frankfort, Indiana
24	David E. Sherrick	January 25, 1903	September 14, 1905	Republican	Noblesville, Indiana	[10]
25	Warren Bigler	September 14, 1905	November 24, 1906	Republican	Wabash, Indiana
26	John C. Billheimer	November 24, 1906	November 24, 1910	Republican	Washington, Indiana
27	William H. O'Brien	November 24, 1910	November 24, 1914	Democratic	Lawrenceburg, Indiana
28	Dale J. Crittenberger	November 24, 1914	November 24, 1916	Democratic	Anderson, Indiana
29	Otto L. Klauss	November 24, 1916	November 24, 1920	Republican	Evansville, Indiana
30	William G. Oliver	November 24, 1920	November 24, 1922	Republican	Franklin, Indiana
31	Robert Bracken	November 24, 1922	November 24, 1924	Democratic	Frankfort, Indiana
32	Lewis S. Bowman	December 1, 1924	December 1, 1928	Republican	Richmond, Indiana
33	Arch N. Bobbitt	December 1, 1928	December 1, 1930	Republican	English, Indiana
34	Floyd E. Williamson	December 1, 1930	December 1, 1934	Democratic	Indianapolis, Indiana
35	Laurence F. Sullivan	December 1, 1934	December 1, 1938	Democratic	Princeton, Indiana
36	Frank G. Thompson	December 1, 1938	December 1, 1940	Democratic	Bluffton, Indiana
37	Richard T. James	December 1, 1940	December 1, 1944	Republican	Portland, Indiana
38	Alvan V. Burch	December 1, 1944	December 1, 1948	Republican	Evansville, Indiana
39	James M. Propst	December 1, 1948	December 1, 1950	Democratic	Terre Haute, Indiana
40	Frank Millis	December 1, 1950	December 1, 1954	Republican	Campbellsburg, Indiana
41	Curtis E. Rardin	December 1, 1954	December 1, 1956	Republican	Rensselaer, Indiana
42	Roy T. Combs	December 1, 1956	December 1, 1958	Republican	Indianapolis, Indiana
43	Albert A. Steinwedal	December 1, 1958	December 1, 1960	Democratic	Seymour, Indiana
44	Dorothy Gardner	December 1, 1960	December 1, 1964	Republican	Fort Wayne, Indiana	[11]
45	Mark L. France	December 1, 1964	December 1, 1966	Democratic	Fort Wayne, Indiana
46	John P. Gallagher	December 1, 1966	December 1, 1968	Republican	Munster, Indiana
47	Trudy S. Etherton	December 1, 1968	December 1, 1970	Republican	South Bend, Indiana
48	Mary Aikins Currie	December 1, 1970	December 1, 1978	Democratic	Osgood, Indiana
49	Charles D. Loos	December 1, 1978	December 1, 1982	Republican	Cicero, Indiana
50	Otis E. Cox	December 1, 1982	December 1, 1986	Democratic	Anderson, Indiana
51	Ann G. DeVore	December 1, 1986	December 1, 1994	Republican	Indianapolis, Indiana
52	Morris Wooden	December 1, 1994	December 1, 1998	Republican	Indianapolis, Indiana
53	Connie Kay Nass	December 1, 1998	December 1, 2006	Republican	Huntingburg, Indiana
54	Tim Berry	December 1, 2006	August 13, 2013	Republican	Fort Wayne, Indiana	[10]
55	Dwayne Sawyer	August 19, 2013	December 15, 2013	Republican	Brownsburg, Indiana	[12]
56	Suzanne Crouch	January 2, 2014	January 9, 2017	Republican	Evansville, Indiana
57	Tera Klutz	January 9, 2017	November 30, 2023	Republican	Fort Wayne, Indiana
58	Elise Nieshalla	December 1, 2023	present	Republican	Zionsville, Indiana

Notes

1. "Pay raises incoming for Indiana's highest elected officials". Indiana Capital Chronicle . Retrieved January 13, 2025.
2. Kelly, Niki (28 November 2023). "Holcomb names Nieshalla as new State Comptroller".
3. "Article 6, Section 1, Indiana Constitution" (PDF). Indiana Legislative Services Agency. Retrieved July 30, 2023.
4. "Comptroller Departments". State of Indiana. Retrieved July 30, 2023.
5. "Article 7, Chapter 1, Indiana Code". Indiana Legislative Services Agency. Retrieved July 30, 2023.
6. Annual Reports of the Officers of State of the State of Indiana (Indianapolis, 1895), 56.
7. The office of auditor was created by Congress in 1809 and filled in the next general election
8. Died in office
9. Was a United States representative
10. Resigned from Office
11. First woman to hold the office.
12. First African-American to hold the office.

See also

• Indiana portal

• Government of Indiana

Sources

• Funk, Arville L (1983) [1969]. A Sketchbook of Indiana History. Rochester, Indiana: Christian Book Press. pp. 209–210.

Footnotes

1. Nieshalla has held this office since her 2023 appointment by Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb to succeed her predecessor, Tera Klutz, who resigned to take a position in the private sector. ^[2]

External links

• "Auditor of State". IN.gov. Retrieved 2008-11-23.