About Auditor Ball
Allison Ball is the 48th Auditor of Public Accounts for the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Prior to being elected Auditor, Ball also served two terms as Kentucky State Treasurer. In both roles, she has been a fierce watchdog of Kentucky taxpayer dollars, protecting them from waste, fraud, and abuse.
As Kentucky State Auditor, she's uncovered billions of dollars of waste, fraud, and abuse in the Commonwealth, including $836 million in Medicaid waste; evidenced by duplicate payments made to managed-care organizations that did not actually grant any extra Medicaid eligibility to Kentuckians. She has also uncovered a plethora of issues within Kentucky's executive branch, from both questionable and wasteful spending to mismanagement within major programs.
Auditor Ball has also used this position to lead the fight for a better life for Kentucky's children. She shined a light on harsh treatment faced by youth in KY's juvenile justice system which resulted in a federal investigation into the issue. She investigated Kentucky's Cabinet for Health and Family Services' treatment of foster children and revealed they had housed hundreds of youth in office buildings, state parks, and hotels in conditions enabling runaways, physical abuse, and vulnerability to sex trafficking. She recently completed her examination of the Jefferson County Public School District, the Commonwealth's largest school district, and is now working diligently to examine Fayette County Public Schools. Her examination of the Kentucky Department of Education has already led to a state law banning an ineffective and harmful method of literacy instruction.
In total, her office oversees more than 600 audits annually, including reviews of the finances of Kentucky's local and county governments.
Ball is a Floyd County native and ninth-generation eastern Kentuckian. She holds a degree from the University of Kentucky College of Law and is licensed to practice law in Kentucky. At the time of her election as State Treasurer, she was the youngest female statewide elected official in the country. She and her husband have two children and the birth of her eldest made her the first Kentucky Constitutional Officer to give birth while in office. Auditor Ball is deeply committed to improving life in the Commonwealth for generations to come.
Mission
To act as a vigorous guardian of taxpayer dollars, providing the accountability, integrity, and leadership for Kentucky to thrive in the 21st century.
Overview
Every taxpayer dollar wasted to fraud, abuse and negligence in Kentucky is one less our Commonwealth can use to invest in its future. The Auditor of Public Accounts ensures that public resources are protected, accurately valued, properly accounted for, and effectively employed to raise the quality of life for all Kentuckians.
General Duties
We are an independent and impartial elected-office charged with auditing the accounts and financial transactions of all spending agencies of the Commonwealth. Our office oversees more than 600 audits annually, including:
- Accounts, financial transactions and performance of state agencies;
- Public and quasi-private agencies that receive state funds;
- Performance, management, conduct and condition of state-owned or operated institutions, such as prisons and public works;
- Fiscal courts, county sheriffs, county clerks and educational cooperatives.