Arkansas State Auditor

The Arkansas state auditor (formally known as the auditor of state) is a constitutional officer within the executive branch of the U.S. state of Arkansas. Thirty-five individuals have occupied the office of state auditor since statehood. The incumbent is Dennis Milligan, a Republican who took office in 2023.

Auditor of State
Seal of the Auditor
Incumbent Dennis Milligan since January 2023
Style	The Honorable
Term length	Four years
Constituting instrument	Arkansas Constitution, Amendment 63, Article 6
Precursor	Territorial Auditor Arkansaw Territory July 4, 1819–June 15, 1836
Formation	June 15, 1836
First holder	Elias N. Conway
Succession	Statewide election
Salary	$85,000
Website	www.auditor.ar.gov

Powers and duties

In Arkansas, the state auditor serves as the general accountant or "bookkeeper" of state government.^[1] As such, the auditor is responsible for preauditing claims against the state, issuing warrants on the state treasury in payment of claims approved, accounting for monthly revenues, expenditures, and cash balances by fund, enforcing the state's unclaimed property laws, and administering payroll to state legislators, elected executive branch officials and the judiciary.^[2]

While the state auditor is the general accountant for the state, he or she is not the state's comptroller, which in the public sector is typically responsible for statewide financial accounting and reporting. That function is instead performed by the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration, which operates under the direction and supervision of the governor.^[3] Similarly, the state auditor does not conduct financial or performance postaudits of state agencies and local governments. Rather, that is the job of the Division of Legislative Audit, whose head is appointed by and reports to the state legislature.^[4] Instead, the state auditor's office occupies a role similar to that performed by accounts payable departments in the private sector.

History

The auditor's office was created on July 4, 1819, when Arkansaw Territory was created from the Missouri Territory. All constitutional officers of Arkansas were appointed by a joint session of the General Assembly of Arkansas Territory, except the governor. Upon statehood in 1836, the position took the current name. When the Arkansas Constitution of 1868 was ratified during the Reconstruction era, direct election of constitutional officers was among the reforms listed in the new document. Auditors were elected to four-year terms in partisan elections. This system remained in place when the Arkansas Constitution of 1874 was adopted, which remains in effect today.^[5][6]

Prior to Amendment 63 in 1982, the term length for constitutional offices in Arkansas, including Auditor, was two years.

List of Arkansas state auditors

No.[a]	Name	Party[b]	Service[7]	Notes
1	Elias N. Conway	None	June 15, 1836 – May 17, 1841
acting	A. Boileau	None	May 17, 1841 – July 5, 1841
1	Elias N. Conway	None	July 5, 1841 – 1849
2	Christopher C. Danley	None	1849–1855	[c]
acting	William Miller	None	1854–1855
3	A.S. Huey	None	1855–1857
4	William Miller	None	1857–1860
acting	H.C. Lowe	None	March 5, 1860 – January 24, 1861
4	William Miller	None	1861–1864	Arkansas was within the Confederate States of America
5	J.R. Berry	Republican	1864–1866
6	William Miller	Democratic	1866–1868
7	J.R. Berry	Republican	1868–1873
8	Stephen Wheeler	Republican	1873–1874
9	William Miller	Democratic	1874–1877
10	John Crawford	Democratic	1877–1883
11	Abner W. Files[8]	Democratic	1883–1887
12	William Miller	Democratic	1877 – November 29, 1887	Died in office
13	W. S. Dunlop	Democratic	November 30, 1887 – 1893	Initially appointed, later elected
14	C.B. Mills	Democratic	1893–1897
15	Clay Sloan	Democratic	1897–1901
16	T.C. Monroe	Democratic	1901–1905
17	Avery E. Moore	Democratic	1905–1909
18	John R. Jobe	Democratic	1909–1912
19	John M. Oathout	Democratic	1912–1913	Resigned shortly before death
20	L.L. Coffman	None	June 13, 1913 – 1915	Appointed to fill unexpired term
21	M.F. Dickinson	None	1915–1917
22	Hogan Oliver	Democratic	1917 – January 1, 1921	Resigned
23	James Guy Tucker	Democratic	1921–1925	Appointed to fill unexpired term
24	J. Carrol Cone	Democratic	1925–1929
25	J. Oscar Humphrey	Democratic	1929–1935
26	Charles E. Parker	Democratic	1935–1937
27	J. Oscar Humphrey	Democratic	1937 – April 2, 1956	Died in office
28	F. Nolan Humphrey	None	1956	Appointed to fill unexpired term
29	James Herbert "Jimmie Red" Jones	Democratic	1957–1979	Resigned upon being appointed Adjutant General of the Arkansas National Guard[9]
30	Jimmie Lou Fisher	None	1979–1981	Appointed to fill unexpired term
31	Julia Hughes Jones	Democratic	1981–1995	[10]
		Republican 1993–1995
32	Gus Wingfield	Democratic	1995–2003	[11]
33	Jim Wood	Democratic	2003–2011	[12][13]
34	Charlie Daniels	Democratic	2011–2015
35	Andrea Lea	Republican	2015–2023
36	Dennis Milligan	Republican	2023–present

Notes

1. Acting auditors are not numbered.
2. Appointed and acting auditors do not have a party listed.
3. Resigned