George Kennedy had served for nine years in his role.
COLUMBIA, S.C. โ South Carolina State Auditor George Kennedy has resigned from office, effective immediately.
In a letter to South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster Thursday Kennedy said, “it is in the best interest of the Office of the State Auditor that I resign from my position.”
Kennedy came into office in October 2015 and, according to the job description of State Auditor, was responsible for financial and compliance audits of the state and its various agencies, health care providers receiving Medicaid reimbursements and internal audit services focused on the South Carolina Dept. of Transportation.
The state’s finances came under scrutiny last year when it was discovered there was a $3.5 billion accounting error in the Comptroller General’s Office that auditors failed to catch. Kennedy and his office had told the comptroller general’s team back in 2017 that a full reconciliation of the state’s accounts would help untangle the error, an action that did not take place until the spring of 2022.
Last week, the results of the long-awaited state audit revealed that a $1.8 billion discrepancy was due to a conversion error when switching over to a new financial system in the State Treasurer’s Office.
Kennedy’s resignation did not directly address the budgeting issues and he did offer to assist in the transition of his office and provide his thoughts on how the State Auditor’s Office could be strengthened.
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