A state working group has compiled documentation for an independent forensic accounting review of $1.8 billion in state funds, with a contract expected to be awarded around July 16, according to the S.C. Department of Administration.
Based on a release from S.C. Dept. of Administration.
COLUMBIA, S.C. — The working group charged by Gov. Henry McMaster this spring to look into questions surrounding the existence of $1.8 billion in state funds has prepared the documentation and information necessary for a state budget-funded forensic accounting review to begin in the new fiscal year, according to the S.C. Department of Administration.
In accordance with Proviso 93.19 of the 2024-2025 state budget, the Department of Administration issued a request for proposals to engage an independent accounting firm to review cash and investments held in the State Treasury as well as cash and investments found in the state’s historical annual comprehensive financial reports, according to the department. The contract is expected to be awarded to an accounting firm around July 16, the department said.
“We recognize the importance of people and agencies working together — collaborating, communicating and cooperating — across boundaries to work for the citizens of our state,” McMaster said, according to the department. “I commend the working group for doing just this. We will continue to build on their hard work and support and count on their aid to the outside accounting firm to conduct what will be a thorough review.”
The working group includes employees from the State Treasurer’s Office, Comptroller General’s Office, State Auditor’s Office, Department of Administration, Attorney General’s Office and the Governor’s Office, according to the department. The group has been analyzing the 2022 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report restatement, collecting and organizing documentation, and working to enhance collaboration among agencies overseeing state financial activity, the department said.
“These individuals and agencies have been committed to working together to determine the existence, purpose and intended destination of the $1.8 billion in question, to find ways to improve collaboration among the agencies involved in state accounting and treasury processes and to build a foundation for a formal review by an outside accounting firm,” said Department of Administration Executive Director Marcia Adams, according to the department.
Since April, the working group, including outside counsel engaged by the Attorney General’s Office, has met 11 times in addition to numerous individual and cross-agency meetings, the department said. Accomplishments include creating a centralized location for bank and investment statements and cash reconciliations, building a platform for direct access to entries related to the state’s conversion to its current enterprise information system, recreating reconciliations of legacy cash balances, documenting relationships between agencies and treasury and ACFR funds, and creating an environment to test potential system changes, according to the department.
The working group will continue meeting to analyze transactions related to the $1.8 billion, including work on the 2022 ACFR restatement, and will work with the selected accounting firm on its review of the state’s cash and investments, the department said.
