Cindy Byrd

Coal County, OK

Cindy Byrd, CPA, is Oklahoma’s 13th State Auditor & Inspector and the first woman elected to serve as the taxpayer’s watchdog. A CPA with 26 years of government auditing experience, Cindy began her journey as an auditor in 1997. Cindy’s audits have identified millions of dollars in misappropriated tax dollars and waste of public funds at every level of government.

By the end of her first term, Cindy published more than 1400 audits including the following which garnered statewide, legislative, even national attention:

• A first of its kind Medicaid audit that revealed weak processes mandated by the federal government and $1.6 billion in expenditures made on behalf of recipients whose eligibility had not been determined.
• A public charter school audit that exposed tens of millions in misappropriated funds which received the 2022 Excellence in Accountability Award for Forensic Audit by the National State Auditor’s Association.
• An audit of COVID funds which reported millions in fraudulent unemployment claims.

Byrd is currently working on a forensic audit of the State Department of Education and is assisting in exposing mandates on ESG investments contrary to a recently passed law. Cindy is passionate about responsible government and strongly advocates for transparency and accountability in the receipt and expenditure of public funds. After all, it’s the people’s money and they deserve to know how it is spent.

Cindy and her husband Steve live in Coalgate located in Coal County, Oklahoma.