Indiana Economic Development Corp. Says Audit Issues Addressed as Attorney General Opens New Review

Indiana Economic Development Corp. officials told a State Budget Committee meeting that every issue from the October 2025 audit has been addressed, while the state attorney general's office has contracted FTI Consulting for a new review of the Indiana Economic Development Foundation's travel and entertainment spending, costing up to $275,000. Yahoo reported the remarks from the Tuesday meeting.

Goodrich and Bohm Defend Audit Response

Commerce Secretary Chuck Goodrich told the committee the agency had studied the audit and corrected what he described as every item on it. "We have studied the audit," Goodrich said. "I know that we have corrected, I think, every item on the audit."

IEDC chief financial officer Clinton Bohm drew a line between the audit's findings and its observations. He said the "actual findings have all been addressed" and that the agency is drafting policies to address the observations, which included the absence of a conflict of interest policy for companies giving money to the foundation.

The audit, ordered by Gov. Mike Braun and released in October 2025, cited failures to investigate undisclosed conflicts of interest involving agency executives. Braun administration officials said last year the foundation was "moving toward wind-down" after auditors found about $11 million of its $13 million in five-year spending went to travel, meals and entertainment. Goodrich said the foundation now operates under a business plan specifying where money is raised and why.

FTI Consulting's $275,000 Contract

The attorney general's office signed the contract with FTI Consulting in August and did not announce it publicly. The firm will examine a "risk-based sample selection" of 100 travel and entertainment expenses paid by the foundation between January 1, 2022, and June 30 of this year, a period spanning part of former Gov. Eric Holcomb's tenure and Braun's.

The contract directs FTI to judge whether the expenses were reasonable, properly documented and consistent with the foundation's stated mission. It also allows the office to widen the review to whether recipient organizations failed to carry out their stated missions or were operated for fraudulent or improper purposes. FTI was paid $800,000 for last year's audit, which was forwarded to the Office of Inspector General without any disclosed actions against a person or entity.

IEDC's Recent Deal Record

According to akta.pro company records, the IEDC announced a $60 million Iron Nation-Indiana initiative in April 2026 to connect Israeli technology startups with Indiana companies, healthcare systems and universities, anchored by $15 million from the Twenty-First Century Research Fund and $30 million from the private sector. In February 2026, Meta Platforms broke ground on a data center campus of more than $10 billion at the LEAP Innovation and Research District in Lebanon, Indiana, supported by IEDC incentives that include a 35-year data center sales tax exemption.

Earlier IEDC Leadership Changes

Gov. Braun appointed Mitch Frazier as IEDC president effective October 5, 2026, replacing Josh Richardson, who left the role on October 2 to enter the private sector, Fox 59 reported. Frazier had been chief of IBJ Media, according to nwitimes.com. In September 2026 the agency issued a request for qualifications for business accelerator operators, offering up to $2.5 million annually for one to six entities, Inside INdiana Business reported.

Next Steps for Indiana Economic Development Corporation

Braun spokesman Griffin Reid told the Capital Chronicle the administration would work with the auditors, saying both entities have been under a directive since April 2025 to cooperate with state agencies seeking information, including the Office of Inspector General and the attorney general's office.