The Fiscal Integrity Act (FIA), enacted March 23, 2015, raises the bar of accountability for fiscal officers across the state. The law helps deter accounting errors and fraud with increased training requirements and a new removal process for fiscal officers.
Register to watch the 20-minute demo on how to use the FIA Training Portal
To add your FIA Continuing Education hours, sign into the AOS Training portal.
To verify certification for fiscal officers across the state, search by person, entity, or county.
Newly elected, hired, or appointed fiscal officers must complete:
6 hours of initial education courses before commencing their term in office or within the first year in office.
18 hours of additional continuing education courses before the end of their first term in office. If the fiscal officer is appointed to fill a vacancy, the total hours for training will be based on the amount of time left in the unexpired term.
Re-elected fiscal officers must complete:
12 hours of continuing education courses before the end of each subsequent term (including 2 hours of ethics training).
Other trainings that may fulfill these requirements include:
Fiscal officers who fall under the requirements include city auditors; city treasurers; township fiscal officers; village fiscal officers; village clerk-treasurers; village clerks; and, in the case of a municipality with a charter, whomever the charter designates as responsible for the duties of these offices.
The Auditor of State's office offers educational opportunities to keep Ohio's local government officials up-to-date on state laws. Check out our Training Agenda for available sessions. The training department continuously seeks additional options, including self-reported classes approved by the Fiscal Officer Integrity Act committee.
Request approval to offer your course for credit hours. This ensures that participants who complete your class receive recognized credit toward their professional development or certification requirements.
For example, if you are planning to teach a course and need it to be recognized for credit hours, you will need to submit a course accreditation request. This process involves getting the course content reviewed and approved by the relevant accrediting body to ensure it meets the standards for awarding credit hours to participants.
So, if you are planning a training for which your participants may receive FIA credit hours, fill out this FIA Request Form
The law provides that a fiscal officer can be removed from office if there is clear and convincing evidence the fiscal officer acted knowingly, purposefully, or recklessly in engaging in misconduct or failure to act. That determination is made after substantial due process, starting with a written affidavit and any evidence.
Before a fiscal officer is removed, the evidence is reviewed by the Auditor of State and then the Attorney General. If the Attorney General agrees with the Auditor of State’s findings, the Attorney General will initiate a lawsuit for removal of the officer in the Court of Common Pleas of the jurisdiction where the misconduct took place.
Any fiscal officer removed from office is prohibited from holding another public office for four years and until any repayment or restitution required by the court is satisfied.
Submit required affidavit and evidence to:
Auditor of State
65 East State Street
Columbus, Ohio 43215
The following requirements must be met to move forward with removal-from-office proceedings:
Once the affidavit is submitted:
In addition to the removal process, the Fiscal Integrity Act also provides that if a county auditor fails to perform the duties of office for 30 consecutive days, except in case of sickness or injury, the office will be deemed vacant.
The following requirements must be met to move forward with removal-from-office proceedings:
Once the affidavit is submitted:
In addition to the removal process, the Fiscal Integrity Act also provides that if a county treasurer fails to perform the duties of office for 30 consecutive days, except in case of sickness or injury, the office will be deemed vacant.
The following requirements must be met to move forward with removal-from-office proceedings:
Once the affidavit is submitted:
In addition to the removal process, the Fiscal Integrity Act also provides that if a township fiscal officer fails to perform the duties of office for 30 consecutive days, except in case of sickness or injury, the office will be deemed vacant.
Municipal fiscal officers include city auditors; city treasurers; village fiscal officers; village clerks-treasurers; village clerks; and, in the case of a municipality with a charter, whomever the charter designates as responsible for the duties of these offices.
The following requirements must be met to move forward with removal-from-office proceedings:
Once the affidavit is submitted:
In addition to the removal process, the Fiscal Integrity Act also provides that if a municipal fiscal officer fails to perform the duties of office for 30 consecutive days, except in case of sickness or injury, the office will be deemed vacant.