Lt. Governor Chris Cournoyer is running for State Auditor. Should she win, she will be subject to SF 478, the law she voted for to limit the Auditor’s office. Does she plan on working with the legislature to reverse it, or does she want it left in place?
Cournoyer discusses her top waste targets and one program she will leave in place from the current Auditor’s office. She’s asked about concerns from the last election cycle from prominent Iowa Republicans on her predecessor’s lack of CPA experience. Is that still a concern?
Cournoyer framed her bid for state auditor around technological modernization, structural efficiency, and disciplined oversight. Addressing the contentious Senate File 478, which established statutory boundaries on the auditor’s office, Cournoyer rejected calls to seek its repeal. She defended the legislation as necessary to protect private citizen data—including healthcare, vaccination, and student records—and to direct inter-agency disputes to standard arbitration panels rather than expensive court battles. “As a professional office, we need to conduct ourselves in a professional way,” Cournoyer stated regarding statutory boundaries and adherence to accounting standards.
Hear from Iowans directly. No algorithms.
Don’t let the algorithms choose your news. Enter your email address to hear directly from Iowans leading news in politics, community, agriculture and business. No editing. No clickbait. No rage. No agenda.
Modernizing Audits Through Technology
Drawing on a 30-year technology career that began at Andersen Consulting, Cournoyer argued the auditor’s office must abandon archaic procedures. She pointed out that state investigations currently take two to three years to complete, an unacceptable lag given modern analytical tools. Cournoyer proposed deploying commercial AI auditing software to review granular spending data, paired with real-time financial tracking dashboards across government bodies. “There’s no reason, with the technology we have available, that we should wait until next year’s audit to uncover misuse of taxpayer funds,” Cournoyer emphasized, adding that certified public accountants must remain in the loop to handle complex, nuanced inquiries.
Streamlining State and Local Operations
Highlighting Iowa’s recent executive realignment—which consolidated 37 cabinet departments into 16, merged IT procurement to save taxpayers $200 million in 18 months, and eliminated six duplicate Workday instances—Cournoyer outlined a broader vision for lean governance. “If we, if we run a leaner, smarter government, we will be able to continue to cut taxes and sustain those tax cuts,” Cournoyer asserted. To support local entities facing high turnover, including 30 incoming county auditors, she pledged proactive compliance training and direct communication channels to resolve accounting obstacles before routine audits begin.