South Carolina Comptroller General

South Carolina Comptroller General
General information
Office Type:	Partisan
Office website:	Official Link
2012-2013 FY Budget:	$2,943,652
Term limits:	None
Structure
Length of term:	4 years
Selection Method:	Elected
Current Officeholder
Name:	Richard Eckstrom
Officeholder Party:	Republican
Assumed office:	2002
Compensation:	$92,007
Elections
Next election:	November 4, 2014
Last election:	November 2, 2010
Other South Carolina Executive Offices
Governor • Lieutenant Governor • Secretary of State • Comptroller • Attorney General • Treasurer • Auditor • Adjutant General • Inspector General • Superintendent of Education • Agriculture Commissioner • Insurance Commissioner • Natural Resources Commissioner • Labor Commissioner • Public Service Commission

The South Carolina Comptroller General is an elected executive official in the South Carolina state government. The comptroller is the state's top accountant and chief fiscal watchdog, responsible for supervising state spending, keeping the state's books and maintaining accounting controls over state agencies.

Current officeholder

The current state controller is Richard Eckstrom. He was first elected in 2002 and was subsequently re-elected in 2006 and 2010.

Authority

The office of comptroller was created in 1890.

Qualifications

Article VI, Section 7 of the South Carolina Constitution establishes the qualifications of the office:

No person may be popularly elected to and serve in any office in this State or its political subdivisions unless he possesses the qualifications of an elector, is not disqualified by age as prescribed in this Constitution, and has not been convicted of a felony under state or federal law or convicted of tampering with a voting machine, fraudulent registration or voting, bribery at elections, procuring or offering to procure votes by bribery, voting more than once at elections, impersonating a voter, or swearing falsely at elections/taking oath in another's name, or has not pled guilty or nolo contendere to these offenses. However, notwithstanding any other provision of this Constitution, this prohibition does not apply to a person who has been pardoned under state or federal law or to a person who files for public office fifteen years or more after the completion date of service of the sentence, including probation and parole time, nor shall any person, serving in office prior to the ratification of this provision, be required to vacate the office to which he is elected. No person may be elected or appointed to office in this State for life or during good behavior, but the terms of all officers must be for some specified period except officers in the militia.

• possess the qualities of an elector
• not disqualified by age as prescribed in this Constitution
• has not been convicted of a felony under state or federal law or convicted of tampering with a voting machine, fraudulent registration or voting, bribery at elections, procuring or offering to procure votes by bribery, voting more than once at elections, impersonating a voter, or swearing falsely at elections/taking oath in another's name, or has not pled guilty or nolo contendere to these offenses

Elections

Article VI, Section 7 of the state constitution stipulates the secretary of state will be elected every four years, to a term of four year term. The secretary, like South Carolina's other executive officials, is elected in mid-term elections: 2010, 2014, and 2018.

Duties

The mission of the Comptroller General's office is to "Serve the Legislature, Judiciary, Executive offices, state agencies, and the citizens of South Carolina by providing centralized payroll and vendor payment processing and centralized accounting and reporting of financial data in accordance with the statewide program budget structure mandated by the General Assembly and in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP)."

The main duties of the office include:

• supervising the state's spending
• keeping the state's books
• maintaining accounting controls over state agencies
• processing all payrolls for state employees, vouchers for bills owed by the state and interdepartmental payments between state agencies

The comptroller also sits on the State Budget & Control Board.

Click here to view larger-scale image of the South Carolina Comptroller General's office Organizational Chart as of September 15, 2011.

Divisions

• Statewide Financial Reporting provides centralized reporting of the state's financial activities. The office produces the state's Comprehensive Annual Financial Report.
• Statewide Accounting provides centralized accounting of the state's financial activities. The office monitors agencies financial activities to ensure compliance with the Annual Appropriation Act and responds to FOIA requests.
• Statewide Payroll Accounts Payable provides centralized payroll for state employees. The office reviews requests for reimbursement from state agencies to ensure compliance with state law.
• Administrative Services provides executive leadership and administrative services to support the agency's functions.
• Information Technology provides information technology application development, maintenance, production control, local area network and PC support. The office manages applications that perform all statewide accounting and payroll functions.

State budget

The budget for the Comptroller General's office in Fiscal Year 2012-2013 was $2,943,652.

Compensation

In 2010, the South Carolina Comptroller General was paid an estimated $92,007 according to the Council of State Governments.

Contact Information

South Carolina Comptroller General
1200 Senate Street
305 Wade Hampton Office Building
Columbia, SC 29201

Phone: (803) 734-2121
Fax: (803) 734-2064

See also

• Comptroller
• Richard Eckstrom
• South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford
• Lieutenant Governor of South Carolina
• South Carolina Attorney General
• South Carolina Secretary of State

External links

Suggest a link

• South Carolina Comptroller General's Office