Clark County auditor candidate Eileen Quiring O’Brien announced that, if elected, one of her first official actions will be to order a complete, comprehensive, independent third-party audit of the Clark County Auditor’s Office.
The audit would examine the office’s financial records, internal systems, procedures, election operations, voter rolls, internal controls, expenditures, contracting, recordkeeping, management practices, public records procedures and the use of taxpayer resources.
“This office belongs to the people of Clark County,” Quiring O’Brien said. “Before we can make meaningful reforms, taxpayers deserve an honest, independent assessment of exactly where things stand.”
Quiring O’Brien said the audit would establish a clear baseline for the incoming administration and would be conducted independently of the existing management structure.
For nearly three decades, the Auditor’s Office has operated under the leadership of Greg Kimsey. Quiring O’Brien believes that after 28 years under essentially the same administration, an outside examination is long overdue.
“You cannot credibly audit yourself,” Quiring O’Brien said. “After nearly three decades under one administration, Clark County taxpayers deserve an independent set of eyes examining the finances, systems, records and election operations of this office.”
Quiring O’Brien compared the need for independent government audits to the standards routinely expected in the private sector.
“Publicly traded companies routinely undergo independent external audits because shareholders have a right to know that their investment is being properly accounted for,” she said. “Taxpayers are the shareholders of their government. They are investing their money in these institutions every single year, and they deserve the same kind of independent scrutiny.”
The proposed audit would include a thorough examination of election administration, including election systems, procedures, record retention practices and voter-registration rolls.
Quiring O’Brien said the purpose would not be to predetermine an outcome, but to independently verify what is working, identify what is not and give the public access to an objective assessment of the department they fund.
“Transparency should not depend upon asking the existing administration whether it believes it has done a good job,” Quiring O’Brien said. “The public deserves independent verification.”
The commitment is consistent with Quiring O’Brien’s broader campaign message of transparency, accountability and independent oversight within the Auditor’s Office.
She has repeatedly argued that the next Clark County Auditor should be willing to question longstanding practices rather than simply inherit them.
“After 28 years, this office does not need another caretaker of the existing system,” Quiring O’Brien said. “It needs independent oversight, a fresh examination of how taxpayer money is being spent and complete confidence that our election systems and public records are being properly managed.”
The audit findings would be presented publicly so Clark County residents could see the results for themselves.
“Shareholders demand independent audits to protect their investment,” Quiring O’Brien said. “Taxpayers deserve nothing less.”
For more information, contact [email protected].
