HSPA will distribute copies of state Board of Accounts audits to newspapers in counties where audits were conducted.
The agency is charged with auditing government units in Indiana. In the past, it issued releases concerning completed audits to media personnel who cover the Statehouse.
“It became clear that many newspapers were missing these potential news stories because they didn’t have a presence in the Statehouse,” said Steve Key, executive director and general counsel for HSPA. “The supervisors with the state Board of Accounts quickly agreed to work with us to get the audits in the hands of reporters who cover the audited government entities.”
The Board of Accounts is now emailing HSPA copies of completed audits. HSPA, in turn, will email the audits to the editors of newspapers located in the same county as the audited public agency.
When audits turn up discrepancies, the reports can be forwarded by the state Board of Accounts to county prosecutors, grand juries or the state attorney general.
The response from the state’s editors concerning this project has been extremely positive, Key said.
