UPDATE: Color By Numbers. Or Is It Numbers By Color?
I’ve spent a significant portion of my time the past few days poring over hefty state audit reports in preparation for my chat with Hawaii State Auditor Marion Higa – part of my reporting on the Hawaii economy. One of the most surprising gems in my research came from the “Financial Examination of the Department of Budget and Finance” – a 122-page investigation that slams the state finance department’s leadership and organization, especially for its investment into $1 billion of auction-rate securities that are now frozen.
The best find was the image you see on the right (click under related media to enlarge). Also seen in this month, the calendar has the stroke and color of an aspiring Quentin Blake, famed illustrator of Roald Dahl books. But it’s meant to do a whole lot more. At the time of the audit, this calendar was the way the Treasury Branch in the Department of Budget and Finance prepared its daily cash projections. Different colors represent different dates that securities will mature while also marking large recurring payments. It covers a litany of important investments: CDs, U.S. treasury bonds, payroll, the Hawaii Employer-Union Health Benefits Trust Fund and taxes allocated to counties, to name a few. The health benefits trust fund is controversial right now because it’s running out of money while the distribution of taxes to counties were a fiery topic in this year’s session.
I met with Higa on Tuesday and here’s what she had to say:
“My team came back and said, ‘You won’t believe it!’ I get these you-won’t-believe things every so often. They come back, ‘You won’t believe what we just saw! This handwritten calendar!’ They describe it. I said, well, let me see it. What they brought back was in black and white. But it’s actually colored…So, I said…We have to get a colored version of it, whatever it takes. So they were able to get colored version. But that’s as good as it got.”
It’s a fascinating look into how our state finance system works, at least at the time of the audit. If you want to dive into the report, download it .
How transparent should the finance department be about their finance practices?
Let’s talk story on the money page.
