Dave Yost

Dave Yost
Auditor of Ohio
Incumbent
Assumed office January 10, 2011
Governor	John Kasich
Preceded by	Mary Taylor
Personal details
Political party	Republican
Alma mater	Ohio State University Capital University
Religion	Christianity

Dave Yost currently serves as Ohio's 32nd Auditor of State.^[1] He previously held the positions of Delaware County Auditor from 1999 to 2003 and County Prosecutor from 2003 to 2011.^[2]

Family, Education and Early Career

Dave Yost graduated from The Ohio State University with a B.A. degree in Journalism. He became an award-winning journalist with the Columbus Citizen-Journal.^[2] He went on to serve in senior positions within the administrations of Columbus Mayor Buck Rinehart^[2] and Ohio Governor George Voinovich.^[2] He then earned a Juris Doctor from Capital University Law School.

While operating a successful private law practice,^[2] Yost was appointed Delaware County Auditor in 1999.^[3] In 2003, he became the Delaware County Prosecutor^[4] where he won the first-ever capital murder case in the county’s history^[5] and successfully prosecuted the largest drug ring to ever operate in Delaware County.^[6]

Auditor Yost and his wife Darlene live in Franklin County. They have three children and three grandchildren.^[2]

Auditor of State (2011-present)

Auditor Yost won the election for Ohio's 32nd state auditor in November 2010.^[7]

Initiatives in Office

Statewide School Attendance Data Audit

After receiving several tips of suspected attendance data manipulation in school districts around the state, Auditor Yost launched a statewide audit of student attendance data on July 26, 2012.^[8] The audit was conducted in three phases^[9] and found that nine school districts across the state “scrubbed” their attendance data.^[10] Auditor Yost also provided the Ohio General Assembly with recommendations for improvements to the state’s accountability system.^[11]

Columbus City Schools Special Audit

While conducting the statewide school attendance data audit, concerns were raised about potential grade changing at the Columbus City School District,^[12] and due to the scope of the fraud allegations,^[13] a separate special audit was launched.^[14] Released in January 2014, the audit revealed a top-down culture of data manipulation and employee intimidation.^[15] Referrals for possible criminal charges and disciplinary action were sent to prosecutors and the Ohio Department of Education.^[16] Mastermind Steve Tankovich became a convicted criminal on July 30, 2014 and agreed as part of a plea deal to cooperate with any further prosecutions.^[17]

Fighting Fraud

Since taking office in 2011,^[2] Auditor Yost identified $17 million in stolen and misspent public money and worked with law enforcement to turn 80 corrupt public officials into convicted criminals.^[18][19]

• Ohio Stops Fraud Mobile App 

  In 2014, Auditor Yost unveiled Ohio Stops Fraud^[20] – an Android^[21] and iPhone application^[22] to report suspected fraud in public offices across the state.^[22] Ohio Stops Fraud allows any user to easily report suspected fraud anytime, anywhere.^[23]

• Carl Shye 

  During his first weeks in office, Auditor Yost noticed a pattern of problems in charter school audits around the state involving then-treasurer Carl Shye. ^[24] The office performed 19 audits and identified $1,115,461 in stolen and misspent money by Shye.^[25] The Auditor of State’s partnership with the FBI and US Attorney led to an embezzlement charge against Shye, and he was sentenced to two years in prison on October 31, 2012 and ordered to pay $472,580 in restitution.^[26]

Campaign Finance Law

In 2012, Auditor Yost worked with legislators to strengthen Ohio law to institute a penalty of a misdemeanor of the first degree for public officials who violate campaign finance law.^[27] Passed with broad, bi-partisan support,^[28] H.B. 326 was drafted after an audit of the Toledo Area Regional Transit Authority (TARTA) found the organization illegally loaned $66,885 to a PAC tasked with gathering resources to fund TARTA levy campaigns.^[29] While such actions were already illegal prior to the legislation, H.B. 326 now allows prosecutors to seek criminal sanction.^[30]

Skinny Government

• Performance Audits 

  Auditor Yost came into office with a mission to “skinny down” Ohio’s governments from the schoolhouse to the statehouse.^[31] Since 2011, Auditor Yost released 68 performance audits of state and local governments and provided more than $150 million in potential savings.^[32] The average return on investment is $23 for every dollar spent to conduct an audit.^[32]

In his first legislative initiative, he worked with the Ohio General Assembly to expand the use of and access to performance audits.^[33] Ohio Revised Code Section 117.46 now requires performance audits of at least four state agencies each biennium.^[34] The first four agencies to receive performance audits were the Ohio Departments of Job and Family Services, Education, and Transportation, as well as the Ohio Housing Finance Agency.^[35] These audits identified more than $78 million in potential savings for Ohio’s taxpayers.^[36] Most recently, a performance audit was launched at the Ohio Department of Natural Resources.^[36]

• Local Government Efficiency 

  To expand access of performance audits to local communities, Auditor Yost worked with legislators to create the Leverage for Efficiency, Accountability and Performance Fund.^[33] The LEAP Fund is a revolving loan fund that advances the costs of a performance audit to state agencies and local governments that might not otherwise be able to afford to have one conducted. The loan is repaid the following year from savings reaped from the audit’s recommendations and rolled into new performance audits.^[37]

Auditor Yost created skinnyOhio.org in 2011.^[38] as an online clearinghouse to help Ohio’s local governments and school districts find best practices from Ohio and national performance audits.^[31] Through this site, governments of all sizes and types can explore proven strategies, policies and procedures that facilitate efficient and effective organization, operation and budgeting.^[31]

• Share Ohio 

  The Auditor of State’s office conducted a first-of-its-kind study in Ohio with the Lake County Capital Equipment Utilization Study..^[39] Released in April 2012, the study reviewed equipment at 24 local governments in the county.^[39] The analysis revealed that some equipment is used as little as 3 percent of the time, or about one day a month. Based on the study results, the Auditor Yost and his staff worked with local officials to develop a public works capital equipment sharing agreement that serves as Ohio’s statewide model.^[40]

The Lake County Capital Equipment Utilization Study prompted Auditor Yost to develop ShareOhio.gov^[41] - a website that, at no cost to local governments, helps communities share equipment.^[42]

References

1. "Inaugural Ceremonies 2011: Auditor of State Swearing-In Ceremony: Dave Yost". OhioChannel.org. Retrieved 13 August 2014.
2. "About Auditor of State Dave Yost". OhioAuditor.gov. Retrieved 19 May 2014.
3. "Ohio Auditor Dave Yost Lincoln Day Dinner Speaker in Cambridge". http://www.toledoblade.com/. Retrieved 13 August 2014. External link in |publisher= (help)
4. Naymik, Mark (25 January 2010). "Delaware County Prosecutor David Yost leaves Ohio attorney general race for auditor's race". Cleveland "Plain Dealer".
5. Grace, Francie (5 June 2003). "Ohio Horror: 1 Man, 3 Dead Wives". CBS News. Retrieved 24 August 2014.
6. Provance, Jim (September 5, 2010). "Ohio Horror: 1 Man, 3 Dead Wives". "Toledo Blade". Retrieved 24 August 2014.
7. "Republican David Yost defeats Pepper for Ohio auditor". www.toledoblade.com. Toledo Blade. 11 March 2010. Retrieved 17 August 2012.
8. "Ohio State Auditor Will Launch Investigation Into School Cheating, Attendance Record Tampering". www.huffingtonpost.com. "Associated Press". 27 July 2012. Retrieved 14 August 2014.
9. "Statewide School Attendance Audit". www.ohioauditor.gov. "Ohio Auditor of State Dave Yost". Retrieved 24 August 2014.
10. "Nine Schools “Scrubbers” in Statewide Attendance Audit" (Press release). Columbus, Ohio: Ohio Auditor of State Dave Yost. 11 February 2013. Retrieved 2 August 2014.
11. Ingles, Joe (11 February 2013). "Auditor’s Report: Four More Districts Scrubbed Attendance Data". IdeaStream (Ohio: Ohio Public Radio Statehouse News Bureau). Retrieved 24 August 2014.
12. "Auditor Yost Investigating Possible Fraud in the Columbus City Schools" (Press release). Columbus, Ohio: Ohio Auditor of State Dave Yost. Ohio Auditor of State. 6 June 2011. Retrieved 24 August 2014.
13. "Smith Richards", Jennifer (15 September 2013). "Subpoenas show Columbus City Schools probe has grown". The Columbus Dispatch (Columbus, Ohio: Dispatch Media Group). Retrieved 24 August 2014.
14. Wainfor, Steve (27 January 2014). "Auditor To Release Findings Of CCS Attendance Investigation". nbc4 (Columbus, Ohio: nbc4i.com). Retrieved 17 August 2014.
15. Student Altered Attendance Records Review for the School Year 2010-2011 Special Review (PDF) (Technical report). Columbus City Schools Office of Internal Audit (published 20 December 2012). 2012. Retrieved 24 August 2014.
16. "Smith Richards", Jennifer (14 November 2012). "Columbus Officials Will Likely Face Criminal Referrals For Falsifying Ohio Student Data". The Columbus Dispatch (The Huffington Post). Retrieved 20 August 2014.
17. "Smith Richards", Jennifer; Bush, Bill (1 August 2014). "Data czar pleads to felony in Columbus schools cheating". The Columbus Dispatch (Columbus, Ohio: Dispatch Media Group). Retrieved 24 August 2014.
18. "Fighting Fraud". www.ohioauditor.gov. July 2014. Retrieved 31 August 2014.
19. Gomez, Henry (29 August 2014). "How Ohio Auditor Dave Yost's down-ballot fundraising plea stacks up: Truth in Numbers". The Cleveland Plain Dealer (Cleveland Plain Dealer). Retrieved 31 August 2014.
20. "Auditor Dave Yost : Launch of iPhone App to Help Fight Fraud". www.ohiochannel.org. "The Ohio Channel". 8 January 2014. Retrieved 31 August 2014.
21. Bartunek, Carrie (5 June 2014). "Auditor of State Dave Yost Releases Android Version of Ohio Stops Fraud App" (Press release). Columbus, Ohio: Ohio Auditor of State. Ohio Auditor of State. Retrieved 31 August 2014.
22. "The Ohio Stops Fraud iPhone App". www.ohioauditor.gov. "Ohio Auditor of State". Retrieved 31 August 2014.
23. "Ohio Stops Fraud". www.ohioauditor.gov. "Ohio Auditor of State". Retrieved 31 August 2014.
24. Hart, Ted; Willis, Donna (17 May 2012). "Charter School Treasurer Accused Of Embezzlement". NBC4 (Columbus, Ohio: NBC4). Retrieved 31 August 2014.
25. Starzyk, Edith (18 May 2012). "Ohio charter school treasurer, Carl Shye Jr., is charged with embezzling federal funds". Cleveland Plain Dealer (Ohio: Cleveland Plain Dealer). Retrieved 31 August 2014.
26. Lindgren, Todd (21 June 2012). "Former Charter Schools Treasurer Pleads Guilty to Embezzling Federal Funds" (Press release). U.S. Attorney's Office Southern District of Ohio. Federal Bureau of Investigation. Retrieved 31 August 2014.
27. "Press Conference, General : Announcing Campaign Finance Legislation". www.ohiochannel.org. "The Ohio Channel". 20 September 2011. Retrieved 31 August 2014.
28. Kovak, Mark (8 December 2011). "Ohio House OKs campaign-funding bill". The Youngstown Vindicator (Columbus, Ohio: The Youngstown Vindicator). Retrieved 31 August 2014.
29. Davis, Zach (6 May 2011). "State Auditor: TARTA illegally lent public money to PAC". The Toledo Free Press (Toledo, Ohio: The Toledo Free Press). Retrieved 31 August 2014.
30. Spark, David (21 September 2011). "TARTA sparks bill to penalize political use of public funds". The Toledo Blade (Toledo, Ohio: The Toledo Blade). Retrieved 31 August 2014.
31. "About This Site". www.skinnyohio.org. "Ohio Auditor of State". Retrieved 31 August 2014.
32. "Auditor of State Initiatives" (PDF). www.ohioauditor.gov. "Ohio Auditor of State". Retrieved 31 August 2014.
33. Schaffer, Tim (1 February 2011). "Senator Schaffer Introduces Legislation To Require Performance Audits Of State Agencies" (Press release). Columbus, Ohio: The Ohio Channel. The Ohio Senate. Retrieved 31 August 2014.
34. Bartunek, Carrie (5 April 2011). "Performance Audit Legislation Signed by Governor" (Press release). Ohio Auditor of State. Ohio Auditor of State. Retrieved 31 August 2014.
35. "Performance Audits". www.ohioauditor.gov. "Ohio Auditor of State". Retrieved 31 August 2014.
36. "Performance Audit Legislation". www.ohioauditor.gov. "Ohio Auditor of State". Retrieved 31 August 2014.
37. "The Leap Fund". www.ohioauditor.gov. "Ohio Auditor of State". Retrieved 31 August 2014.
38. "Auditor Dave Yost : Press Conference Unveiling SkinnyOhio.org". OhioChannel.org. 9 May 2011. Retrieved 13 August 2014.
39. "Lake County Capital Equipment Utilization Study" (PDF). Ohio Performance Team. Ohio Auditor of State. 10 April 2012. Retrieved 13 August 2014. line feed character in |title= at position 13 (help)
40. "Ohio Auditor Dave Yost shares thoughts on equipment sharing in Lake County". The News Herald (Ohio: The News Herald). 31 May 2012. Retrieved 31 August 2014.
41. Ewinger, Jim (26 June 2014). "Ohio's auditor launches equipment-sharing pilot plan in Lake County". Cleveland Plain Dealer (Mentor, Ohio: Cleveland Plain Dealer). Retrieved 31 August 2014.
42. "ShareOhio.gov". Ohio Auditor of State. Ohio Auditor of State. Retrieved 13 August 2014.