OSA History

The Office of the State Auditor has a long history, dating back before Minnesota’s entry into the Union. Prior to statehood, when Minnesota was a United States territory, there were four territorial auditors, officials charged with ensuring that the territorial and county governments’ finances were in order and handled properly. This continued when Minnesota became a state in 1858.

After statehood was granted, the duties of the constitutional office of State Auditor included functioning as a controller for the executive branch of state government, approving expenditures in advance, and overseeing county finances. In 1973 the State Legislature incorporated the county audit duties of the Public Examiner into the Office of the State Auditor. Since then the primary focus of the State Auditor has been auditing and overseeing county audits and local government finances. The Office of the Legislative Auditor was then charged with auditing state agencies and making recommendations for study topics to the Legislative Audit Commission. The post of Public Examiner was eliminated in the 1973 reorganization.