To bookkeep or not to bookkeep

CEDAR RAPIDS - The race for state auditor pits candidates - appointed incumbent Mary Mosiman and challenger Jon Neiderbach - with different visions for the office designed to detect fraud and ensure government operates effectively, efficiently and legally across Iowa.

Mosiman, a Republican from Ames, said she believes the office should be run like a certified public accounting firm that audits state and local government and provides training for private companies that perform government audits.

'The biggest distinction is that I am a CPA, and my opponent is not,” said Mosiman, who was appointed in May 2013 by Gov. Terry Branstad to complete the term of David Vaudt, who resigned. 'For this office, it is a big difference. It's critical that the auditor remains a CPA so it can have a CPA firm status for the state office.”

On the other hand, challenger Neiderbach, a Democrat from Windsor Heights, said running the office as a CPA firm undermines its purpose.

'The position should be much more than Iowa's chief bookkeeper, and that's what it's become,” said Neiderbach, a lawyer previously worked as an analyst in the Iowa Legislative Fiscal Bureau. 'You hire the experts. You need someone with a vision and passion for better government, saving money and effective services, You don't need a CPA.”

Iowa voters can choose one of the two candidates for a four-year term as Iowa auditor on Nov. 4. The office has about 100 employees and a $10 million budget, Mosiman said.

Mosiman, who served three terms as Story County auditor, said conducting audits are her top priority and the top duty of the office. She also hopes to expand auditing oversight beyond the state's general fund to include non-general fund dollars and federal contributions to the state budget.

A third priority is to improve outreach and training to enhance controls at the local level, such as with city councils, school boards and boards of supervisors. Annual web training would be a key piece of this educational component.

'Fraud is often perpetrated by people who are trusted,” she said. 'That's why it is important to have oversight ...

In many cases people are not asking the right questions.”

Neiderbach said he would bring an activist approach to the role of examining government.

'The way I do things, I have no idea if people will want to re-elect me in four years,” he said. 'I will step on toes, I won't be ‘Iowa nice.'”

Neiderbach said he wants to look at hiring practices, at whether Iowa's sunshine laws are being followed and at opportunities for shared public services among municipalities while maintaining local decision making.

He also criticized audits conducted by Mosiman as 'brief” and only focused on financial matters, instead of providing 'meaty” and 'substantive” reviews.

'If you are constantly having problems identified by whistle-blowers and not caught by audits, it's a problem,” he said.

Candidate Bios:

Mary Mosiman

' Age: 52

' Party affiliation: Republican

' Hometown: Ames

' Occupation: State Auditor

' Previous political experience: Three terms as Story County auditor

' Highest education: Bachelor of science in business-accounting, Iowa State University

Jon Neiderbach

' Age: 58

' Party affiliation: Democrat

' Hometown: Windsor Heights

' Occupation: Lawyer

'Previous political experience: Former Des Moines School Board member, including service as president

' Highest education: J.D., University of Oregon; B.A., Grinnell College