Oklahoma’s history-making Auditor Cindy Byrd might not have a direct involvement in the state’s energy industry, but her agency monitors the finances of such agencies as the Department of Environmental Quality, the Energy Department and the Corporation Commission. And she intends to make transparency a focus of her agency.
She made history on Monday when she was sworn in as Oklahoma’s 13th state Auditor and became the first woman to hold the office in state history.
Byrd also received the most votes in an election for state office in Oklahoma history—more than 800,000 ballots. In winning her first term as State Auditor, Byrd also received the highest percentage of votes of all the statewide candidates.
“The election process is really pretty grueling and it also brings out what people are passionate about,” said State Auditor-elect Cindy Byrd. “I learned so much as a candidate for office, including that Oklahomans expect the people they elect to govern with honesty and integrity while remembering just who it was that put them in office.
“Governor Kevin Stitt has made accountability and transparency in the expenditure of public funds a priority of his administration. The State Auditor’s primary role is to do just that. I look forward to working with our new governor and legislators to accomplish this goal.”
Audits published by the State Auditor are conducted in accordance with government auditing standards. Chief among these requirements is that the auditor be truly independent.
“My core values and personal principles will guide me in serving as State Auditor,” Byrd said. “The job we do for taxpayers will quickly define our success in accounting for how agencies and officers spend tax dollars and in rooting out public corruption in order to protect those dollars. I look forward to the challenge and accomplishing the critical mission of this office.”
“Transparency begins and ends with the State Auditor,” Byrd said. “I want all Oklahomans to know this office is open to them, their concerns, their complaints, and their support. We serve all residents in protecting both the receipt and expenditure of public funds and we do it together.”
