Truth in Accounting

Sheila Weinberg, a certified public accountant, founded the organization in 2002 as the Institute for Truth in Accounting. ^{3 4}

Background

According to its mission statement, Truth in Accounting seeks, “To educate and empower citizens with understandable, reliable, and transparent government financial information.” ⁵

Sheila Weinberg, a certified public accountant, founded the organization in 2002, initially known as the Institute for Truth in Accounting, with the goal of being a resource for taxpayers, legislators, the press, and think tanks for complete and accurate financial information. ^{3 4}

The organization analyzes accounting data from all 50 U.S states and the 75 most populous cities in the country. ¹

Research

The institute issues its research through reports such as the “Financial State of the Union,” the “Financial State of the States,” and the “Financial State of the Cities.” ³

In a 2021 report, Truth in Accounting projected the total national debt to be about $123 trillion — about $800,000 per taxpayer and roughly four times larger than the official figure from the U.S. Treasury Department of $28 trillion. TIA contends its measure were more accurate because they covered federal assets and liabilities and unfunded debt, including entitlement benefits. ⁶

In a separate 2021 report, Truth in Accounting determined that 13 of the 75 most populous cities in the country had a budget surplus. These received a B grade. None of the cities got an A grade. TIA’s analysis found cities owe more than $333 billion in unfunded debt. The study ranked Irvine, California; Washington, D.C.; Stockton, California; Lincoln, Nebraska; and Charlotte in its top five. The bottom five were New York, Chicago, Honolulu, Philadelphia, and Nashville. ⁷

In a fall 2020 report, the TIA determined 39 states did not have enough money to pay all of their bills. Three states received an A grade, eight received Bs, 14 got Cs, 17 got Ds and eight states received Fs. The total debt for 50 states was $1.4 trillion, according to TIA. Most of the debt is reportedly from unfunded retirement benefits. Pension debt was $855 billion and other post-employment benefits reached $617 billion. ⁸

Leadership

Sheila A. Weinberg is the founder and CEO of Truth in Accounting. A certified public accountant, Weinberg is a member of the Association of Government Accountants’ Financial Management Standards Board, the University of Denver’s School of Accountancy Advisory Board, and is a member of the Union League Club of Chicago’s Public Affairs Committee. She previously worked as an independent legislative adviser to members of Congress on federal budgeting issues. ⁹

Joan Colmar is president of Truth in Accounting and was involved in the organization since it began. She previously led two wholesale businesses and worked as a strategic planner/executive coach for small start-up companies. She is a member of the Alumni Board of Northwestern University. ⁹

Bill Bergman is the Truth in Accounting director of research. Bergman teaches finance courses at Loyola University. He worked for 13 years as an economist and policy analyst at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. ⁹

Karen Danford is editor and project director for Truth in Accounting, where she is in charge of TIA publications and media outreach. Previously, Danford was the editor of public policy at Ballotpedia. ⁹

Bill Obenshain is chairman of the Truth in Accounting board of directors. He is also the chairman of the advisory board of the Center for Financial Services at DePaul University where he was previously the center’s executive director from 2007 to 2016. He has nearly four decades in the financial service industry, including working at Continental Bank and Bank of America. ¹⁰