Goals & Vision

Reforming State Government

Since taking office, Auditor Merritt has worked hard to reform state government and ensure that the politicians spend your money wisely -- and he's stepped on a few toes in the process.  If elected to a second term, Auditor Merritt will continue his efforts to shake up Raleigh by:

-  Speaking out against irresponsible budgeting practices

-  Following up on previous audits to ensure that agencies are implementing auditors' recommendations

-  Asking tough questions in Council of State meetings

-  Shining a bright spotlight into the dark corners of state government to increase government transparency

Exposing Fraud, Waste & Abuse in State Government

State government has an obligation to spend our tax dollars wisely.  That's why State Auditor Leslie Merritt has aggressively worked to root out fraud, waste and abuse in state government.  If elected to a second term, one of Auditor Merritt's top priorities will be leveraging his recently-launched Investigative Task Force, which is led by a veteran FBI agent, to continue exposing waste and abuse in our state.

Being Pro-Active to Prevent Problems

We all know that preventing problems is better than cleaning up the mess after the fact.  If elected to a second term, Auditor Merritt will continue his efforts to transform the Auditor's Office into a pro-active agency that helps prevent problems rather than simply reporting them after the fact.

-  Increased Emphasis on Performance Audits:  When Leslie Merritt ran for State Auditor in 2004, he pledged to increase the office's performance on pro-active performance audits.  Auditor Merritt kept his word, and the office is on track to conduct 46% more performance audits during 2005-2008 (Auditor Merritt’s first four years in office) than were released during 2001-2004.  This increased emphasis on performance audits comes in spite of the fact that in 2005 numerous performance audit staffers were shifted to help clean up the backlog of investigative audits. If elected to a second term, Auditor Merritt will continue to increase the office's emphasis on performance audits.

-  Leveraging Technology:  Auditor Merritt launched a new “strategic auditing” process to help identify unusual trends and potential problems in state spending.  If elected to a second term, Auditor Merritt will continue to leverage technology to increase the office's ability to track how state government spends your tax dollars.