The county auditor must wear many hats. The following attempts to categorize the most important duties of the office.

The auditor serves as a secretary to the board of county commissioners and the clerk to the county council. The auditor has responsibility for keeping accounts and issuing warrants for the payment of claims against the county. As a result, the board of commissioners, the council and other officials often look to the auditor for day-today operational assistance, information and advice. The auditor is responsible for all documents, books, records, maps and papers deposited in the auditor’s office.

The auditor is directly responsible for preparing tax duplicates showing the value of property and taxes assessed against each taxpayer. After taxes are collected by the treasurer, the auditor distributes them to the governmental units and agencies for which they were collected. As a part of the tax function, the auditor must also prepare plats that show the ownership and assessed valuation of each parcel in each township in the county. The plats must contain information prescribed by the State Board of Tax Commissioners and must be kept current. If property taxes become delinquent, the auditor must prepare a delinquency list in preparation for the offering at public sale of the parcels owing delinquent property taxes.

Many of the above functions have to do with controlling public funds. In keeping accounts and issuing warrants, the auditor must develop financial analysis and cash flow projections and assist with budget preparations. The auditor is the principal financial officer in county government and is defined under IC 36-2-9-2 as the fiscal officer of the county. (Generally see IC 36-2-9 for duties and responsibilities of the county auditor).