Iowa state auditor David Vaudt has been named the next chairman of the Governmental Accounting Standards Board as of July 1.
Vaudt, who will success Robert Attmore, who is retiring on June 30, was appointed on Thursday by the Financial Accounting Foundation’s Board of Trustees to a seven-year term.
This term is different from the previous practice of the GASB chair being appointed to an initial five-year term with the possibility of serving a second five-year term.
Attmore, who served two five-year terms as chairman, announced his retirement last fall.
Vaudt, Iowa’s auditor since January 2003, has been responsible for auditing the state’s comprehensive annual financial report and single audit report. He has also supervised the annual audit for more than 200 Iowa cities, counties, school districts and other governmental organizations.
“These are challenging times for state and local governments,” Vaudt said. “I look forward to quickly engaging with the other GASB members and the wide range of GASB stakeholders, especially the Governmental Accounting Standards Advisory Council, to get a sense of the issues that they believe are the most pressing as we move ahead.”
Vaudt was president of the National State Auditors Association from 2011 to 2012, chair of the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy from 2003 to 2004 and chair of the Iowa Accountancy Examining Board from 1995 to 2002. He also served on the boards or audit committees of local Iowa civic and government organizations, including the Better Business Bureau of Iowa.
Prior to his time as the state auditor, Vaudt worked in KPMG’s Des Moines office for 25 years, including 13 years as partner, where he specialized in government services. He also was the office’s human services and recruiting partner.
“David’s extensive experience with and knowledge of the challenging accounting and financial issues facing state and local governments will enable him to continue the strong tradition of leadership and transparency established by our outgoing chairman,” said Jeffrey Diermier, chairman of the FAF Board of Trustees.
