Sattgast running against Democrat Tom Cool
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HURON — If voters return Rich Sattgast to the state auditor’s office in November, he plans to make moves designed to improve the speed and accuracy of its primary job, auditing vouchers, he said Monday.
State treasurer since 2010, he is running again for the auditor’s post, having served there for two terms beginning in 2002.
“The audit department is the heart of the auditor’s office,” he said at a Beadle County Republican Party campaign luncheon. “Auditing is the number one area there. It’s where we pay our vendors.
“We have 1,100 vouchers a day coming into the auditor’s office,” Sattgast said. “And you have about five employees that are doing the auditing, which means they get to spend about two and a half minutes per voucher ensuring that it is accurate, it’s accountable and it’s also timely in payment.”
Vouchers can be anything from a state employee’s paycheck to one for hundreds of thousands of dollars going to a contractor on a state job.
With recent automation, Sattgast believes he can move one employee from the reconciliation department to the audit department.
He’s also considering bringing in a second-tier auditor, someone trained in fraud who can take a second look at any vouchers that may be questionable.
“We haven’t had any issues over in the auditor’s office, but I want to ensure that we don’t have any in the future either,” Sattgast said.
PHOTO BY ROGER LARSEN/PLAINSMAN
Rich Sattgast, who is running for the auditor’s post, speaks at Monday’s GOP luncheon.