Thursday, February 11, 2016
OKLAHOMA CITY — Governor Mary Fallin announced today she is appointing James Denton to the Incentive Evaluation Commission.
Denton, of Edmond, is the governor’s representative to the eight-member commission. He is an auditor employed by a private auditing firm, as required by state statute.
“This commission’s work is vital, since there is little evidence Oklahoma has ever studied its tax incentives to determine which ones are beneficial to the state as a whole,” said Fallin. “James Denton is ideally suited to aid in this review because of his substantial experience as an auditor.”
Denton, a certified public accountant, is president and chief executive officer of Arledge & Associates, an Edmond-based accounting firm. He has been with the firm since 1984, its first year in business.
Denton, a Ponca City native, has led Arledge’s audit department since 1987, overseeing the practice’s growth from one not-for-profit client in the mid-1980s to an audit and consulting base of more than 15,000 audit hours.
He has been the firm’s managing partner since 2007.
Denton, a former public school teacher, is a two-time graduate of the University of Central Oklahoma, earning a bachelor’s degree in music education in 1980 and a bachelor’s degree in accounting in 1984.
The Incentive Evaluation Commission, created by legislation passed in 2015, will review each incentive once every four years. Its first meeting is scheduled for Feb. 25 at 2 p.m. in room 419C at the state Capitol.
The commission will report its findings to the governor and Legislature by Dec. 15 each year. Its first report will be considered by legislators in the 2017 session.
The governor’s appointee, a private sector auditor, is one of five voting and three non-voting members on the Incentive Evaluation Commission.
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