Texas earns score of 80 out of 100 on financial transparency

Texas received a transparency score 80 out of 100 in an analysis of state governments’ annual financial reports by the nonprofit organization, Truth in Accounting (TIA).

Texas ranked 31 out of 50 states based on a ranking of 100 points being the most transparent.

The score is based on the state’s financial records having a “clean (passing) independent auditor opinion” (50 points), no confusing deferred items listed on their balance sheets (10 points), including retirement liabilities (10 points), publishing their reports in a timely manner within 100 days of a fiscal year’s end (10 points), online accessibility (five points), navigable links (five points), using an external auditor (five points) and pension data timing (five points).

On average, state transparency scores increased six points over the previous fiscal year due to requirements on including worker retirement liabilities, the TIA analysis found. The study used fiscal-year 2018 data, which was the latest year available.

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States’ Financial Transparency Scores, From Best to Worst

Rank	State	Auditor Opinion	Deferred Items	Off-Balance Sheet Liabilities	Timeliness	Accessibility	Navigation	External Auditors	Pension Data Timing	Total Transparency Score
1	Idaho	50	9	10	8	3	4	2	2	88
1	North Dakota	50	9	10	8	2	5	2	2	88
1	Nevada	50	8	10	6	3	4	5	2	88
4	Utah	50	7	10	8	4	5	2	1	87
4	Virginia	50	9	10	8	4	4	0	2	87
4	West Virginia	50	5	10	8	4	3	5	2	87
4	Wyoming	50	9	8	8	3	3	5	1	87
8	Indiana	50	9	10	8	3	2	2	2	86
8	Maine	50	7	10	8	3	4	2	2	86
8	South Carolina	50	8	6	10	4	1	5	2	86
8	Tennessee	50	9	10	8	3	4	0	2	86
8	Oregon	50	9	10	8	2	3	2	2	86
8	Washington	50	9	8	8	3	4	2	2	86
14	Georgia	50	7	10	6	3	5	2	2	85
14	Maryland	50	3	10	8	2	2	5	5	85
14	Pennsylvania	50	7	7	8	3	5	5	0	85
14	South Dakota	50	8	10	6	4	3	2	2	85
18	Massachusetts	50	4	10	6	3	4	5	2	84
18	Arizona	50	8	10	4	4	4	2	2	84
18	Hawaii	50	5	10	8	3	1	5	2	84
21	Delaware	50	4	10	8	3	1	5	2	83
21	New York	50	9	5	8	2	2	5	2	83
23	Iowa	50	8	10	8	2	2	0	2	82
23	Kansas	50	9	4	8	3	1	5	2	82
23	Mississippi	50	8	10	2	4	4	2	2	82
23	New Hampshire	50	4	10	6	4	1	5	2	82
23	Oklahoma	50	8	5	8	2	5	2	2	82
23	Rhode Island	50	7	10	6	3	4	0	2	82
29	Alabama	50	7	7	6	2	5	2	2	81
29	Colorado	50	5	10	8	2	3	2	1	81
31	Louisiana	50	7	10	6	2	1	2	2	80
31	Texas	50	4	9	6	4	5	0	2	80
33	Minnesota	50	0	10	8	4	5	0	2	79
33	Montana	50	8	9	8	1	1	0	2	79
35	Florida	50	8	10	4	1	3	0	2	78
35	Wisconsin	50	5	6	8	4	4	0	1	78
37	Kentucky	50	1	10	8	2	2	2	2	77
37	Arkansas	50	7	10	6	1	1	0	2	77
39	Ohio	50	6	8	8	1	1	2	0	76
40	Michigan	50	8	4	6	3	2	0	2	75
41	California	50	3	10	0	2	3	2	2	72
41	Illinois	50	0	10	0	4	4	2	2	72
43	New Jersey	50	0	10	0	3	4	2	2	71
44	Missouri	35	7	10	6	4	4	2	2	70
45	Alaska	35	9	10	4	3	4	2	2	69
46	New Mexico	35	7	10	2	1	1	5	2	63
47	Nebraska	35	5	10	6	2	1	0	2	61
48	Vermont	25	5	10	8	4	1	3	2	58
49	North Carolina	25	3	10	8	4	4	0	2	56
50	Connecticut	25	1	10	6	3	3	0	2	50

Source: Truth in Accounting

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