AUDITOR. Term now commonly applied to expert accountants who examine and state the accounts of government departments, cor porations, etc. An auditor is an officer of the government, whose duty it is to examine the accounts of officers who have received and dis bursed public moneys by lawful authority. In practice an auditor is an officer of the court, assigned to state the items of debit and credit between the parties in a suit where accounts are in question, and exhibit the balance. They may be appointed either by courts of law or equity. They are appointed at common law in actions of account, and in many of the States in other actions, under statutory regulations. The auditor's report must state a special ac count, 4 Yeates, Penn. 514, giving items allowed and disallowed, 5 Vt. 70, but it is sufficient if it refer to the account, and it is their duty to report exceptions to their decisions of questions taken before them to the court, and exceptions must be taken before them, 4 Cranch, U. S. 308; 22 Bart. N. Y. 39; unless apparent on the face of the report. The report of the auditor as to facts is final in some of the States, unless impeached for fraud, misconduct or very evident error. When the report is set aside in whole or in part, it may be referred back or may be rectified by the court, or accepted if the party in favor of whom the wrong decision is made remits the item.
Treasury In the United States Treasury Department there are' six auditors, one for this department itself while the others audit the accounts of the Army, Interior, Post-office, War and State and other departments, These auditors decide whether accounts against the government are submitted in the proper form, but if differences of opinion arise appeal may be made to the Comptroller of the Treasury.
State Most of the State Con stitutions provide for auditors who shall audit the public accounts and perform whatever other duties are prescribed by the statutes. These officers are usually elected, in New Jersey, Tennessee and Virginia the election being by joint ballot of the legislature. In Colorado,
Oklahoma and Pennsylvania two successive terms are prohibited. Often the auditor is a member of the State executive boards, such as the board of taxes, etc.
Local In Indiana, Iowa, Min nesota, Ohio and South Dakota the county auditors are elective and in about one-third of the States the county auditors are regular county officers. County auditors also are found regularly in California, Mississippi, Nevada, New Jersey, South Carolina and Washington, and such officials may be found also in the larger counties of Kansas, Michigan, New York, Pennsylvania and Utah. It is the duty of these auditors to keep accounts of receipts and expenditures, to issue warrants for the expenditures of the county, to prepare tax lists, and sometimes to assess priverty for purposes of taxation. In some States the county clerks act as accountants and auditors and in several States the county commissioners or board of supervisors audit the accounts. In New England the boards of selectmen usually examine town and township accounts, while in the Middle Atlantic and North Central States this work is performed by the town boards. In Kansas, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, Wyoming, and partially in Massachusetts and New York, a centralized system of auditing county and town accounts has been put into operation. Consult Beard, C. A., 'American Government and Politics' (New York 1911), and 'American City Government' (New York 1912); Fairlie, J. A. 'Local Goyemment in Counties, Towns and Villages' (New York 1906); Hart, A. B., 'Actual Government' (New York 1908); Renick, E. I., 'Control of National Expenditures,' in Political Science Quarterly, Vol. VI, pp. 248-81 (1891); Thorpe, F. N. 'Federal and State Constitutions' (Washington 1909). For the law as to auditors in England consult Pixley, 'Auditors: their Duties and Responsibilities > (London 1896).