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The Constitutional Basis

In 1950, the delegates to Hawai‘i’s first Constitutional Convention considered the position of the Auditor sufficiently important to be established in the State Constitution.  The delegates envisioned an Auditor who would help eliminate waste and inefficiency in government, provide the Legislature with a check against the powers of the executive branch, and ensure that public funds are expended according to legislative intent.

The State Constitution in Article VII, Section 10, establishes the position of Auditor.  To ensure independence from undue pressure from individual legislators, the executive branch, and forces outside government, the Constitution specifies that the Auditor be appointed for an eight-year term by a majority vote of each house in joint session.  The Auditor may be removed only for cause by a two-thirds vote of the members in joint session.

It is the constitutional duty of the Auditor to conduct post-audits of the transactions, accounts, programs and performance of all departments, offices, and agencies of the State and its political subdivisions.  The 1978 Constitutional Convention clarified these duties, making clear that the office’s post-auditing functions are not limited to financial audits, but also include program and performance audits of government agencies.  While financial audits attest to the accuracy of financial statements and adequacy of financial records and internal control systems of agencies, program and performance audits assess the performance, management, and effectiveness of government agencies and programs—providing information to improve operations, facilitate decision-making, and increase public accountability.  Click here for a more complete discussion.

The Auditors

The office became a reality in 1965 when a joint session of the House and Senate appointed Clinton T. Tanimura as the State’s first Auditor.  After serving more than two full terms, Mr. Tanimura retired in December 1988.  Newton Sue became the Acting State Auditor.  In 1989, Mr. Sue adopted generally accepted government auditing standards promulgated by the U.S. Government Accountability Office to ensure the credibility, reliability, and quality of audit reports.  He retired at the end of 1991.  Marion M. Higa assumed the role of Acting State Auditor and was appointed Auditor by the Legislature in the subsequent year.  In May 2008, the Legislature reappointed Ms. Higa to her third eight-year term to start on July 1, 2008. Ms. Higa retired at the end of 2012, and Jan K. Yamane, Deputy Auditor and General Counsel, assumed the role of Acting State Auditor.

The Work

The office reports on performance audits, financial audits, sunset evaluations of regulatory programs, sunrise analyses of proposed regulatory programs, analyses of proposals to mandate health insurance benefits, procurement audits, special studies requested by the Legislature, analyses of proposed special funds, analyses of existing trust and revolving funds, and fiscal accountability analyses of public education.

The Auditor has overall responsibility for the policies and direction of the office.  She is supported by a deputy auditor, five other managers, 14 analysts, and four office services staff.  The tasks of planning, researching, and drafting audit reports and other work products are carried out individually or by teams.  Our staff come from a variety of backgrounds including public administration, accounting, education, business administration, journalism, and law.  When specialized expertise is needed, we contract with consultants.  We also contract for the majority of the State’s financial statement audits.  The office services staff publish the reports largely in-house.