Indiana Comptroller Elise Nieshalla, a Republican, poses after an interview in downtown Indianapolis on Wednesday, June 25. Photo by Leslie Bonilla Muñiz, Indiana Capital Chronicle.

By Leslie Bonilla Muñiz
Indiana Capital Chronicle

INDIANAPOLIS — After serving out the rest of another’s term in office, Indiana Comptroller Elise Nieshalla is seeking her own.

“I knew from the beginning that that would be what I would do: fulfill the term and then be ready to run,” she told the Capital Chronicle on Wednesday.

Nieshalla, a Republican, has served as the state’s 58th chief financial officer since late 2023. Former Gov. Eric Holcomb appointed her after predecessor Tera Klutz resigned.

“It is an absolute privilege to serve as state comptroller in a great state like Indiana, that has its fiscal house in order,” Nieshalla said. “And it would be a privilege to continue serving, to do our part in our office: to provide the accounting and the reporting, the distribution of the tax revenues to the local units, the payroll, the payment of the state’s bills.”

Achievements Made — And Envisioned

Nieshalla said she’s proudest of her efforts to divest from China and entities that follow environmental, social and governance investment principles.

The Indiana Public Retirement System finished shedding its $1.2 billion worth of investments in Chinese entities last August — four years ahead of the schedule state lawmakers set and one year after starting the effort.

Nieshalla, as comptroller, is on the system’s board. But she also chairs the board for a pension supplement called the Deferred Compensation Plan, or Hoosier START. That plan wasn’t required to divest — but did.

“We leaned into it as a board and took the spirit of that law and made certain that the funds invested through the Deferred Compensation Plan were also not invested in anything touching Chinese entities,” she said. “And we also accomplished that here, just in this last year. Very proud of that, for the sake of Hoosiers and the beneficiaries that we serve.”

The boards for INPRS and the Deferred Compensation Plan have taken similar actions following another state ban on ESG in pension investments.

Nieshalla has additionally urged the Securities and Exchange Commission to investigate delisting China-based companies on U.S. stock exchanges.

Another achievement she highlighted is coming this fall.

The comptroller’s office is responsible for the Indiana Transparency Portal, and is working on adding visibility into how the state spends federal funds.

Nieshalla also noted that the office has earned a certificate of achievement for excellence in financial reporting from the Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada for 31 years straight — and vowed to continue that for another four years if reelected.

She’s got goals for a prospective next term.

Such as: incorporating artificial intelligence into accounts payable, U.S. Department of Government Efficiency-style.

“We can do that here at the state, look through our massive amounts of information and help our people see even more clearly where there are anomalies that need to be investigated,” Nieshalla said.

Another aim is fund number consolidation.

“Currently, the State Board of Accounts has one number for each fund that local units use. The Department of Local Government Finance has another number, and then local units have yet another,” Nieshalla said.

“It is confusing, it is laborious, it is difficult for the sake of transparency, for Hoosiers to understand,” she added, later. “… It is low-hanging fruit for us as a state to consolidate these numbers in partnership with the local units, to streamline that great working relationship that we have in the distribution of funds and to serve them in their budgeting process.”

Extracurricular And Past Pursuits

When asked if there was anything else she wanted Hoosiers to know about her, Nieshalla offered up her work with the State Financial Officers Foundation. She pitched and now leads a National Debt Crisis Task Force for the conservative organization.

“I’m very concerned about the rapidly dissolving financial position of our country,” Nieshalla said. “We are under the weight of $36 trillion of debt, and the interest payment alone on that debt is the fastest-growing line item in the federal budget.”

Her task force issued a letter late to then-President-elect Donald Trump and the 535 voting members of Congress last year, urging them to take action.

“It made a great impact. And we’re not done,” Nieshalla said. “We’re working on a follow-up letter in partnership with state legislators, and leaning into providing our support to President Trump and Congress to restore the country’s fiscal solvency — for the country and for the states.”

Prior to her appointment as comptroller, Nieshalla was serving as president of the Boone County Council, president of the Indiana County Councils Association and chair of the Association of Indiana Counties’ 2023 Legislative Committee. She has also worked 22 years in real estate.

Nieshalla made an unsuccessful bid for Indiana treasurer at the 2022 GOP convention but lost out to current officeholder Daniel Elliott.

She earned a bachelor’s degree from Oral Roberts University and a master’s degree from Indiana University. She and her husband, Chris, live in Zionsville, where they’ve raised their four children.