According to an account by the Associated Press’s James Pollard, an S.C. State Senate report found that Eckstrom was solely responsible for the $3.5-billion mapping error, during the transition to a new IT system from 2011 to 2017. State official testified he ignored years-long warnings of a “material weakness” in his office and flawed cash reporting.

Eckstrom claimed the Annual Comprehensive Financial Report was exaggerated.

The Senate panel investigating the blunder accused Eckstrom of “willful neglect of duty”. The AP article said Pollard, a decades’-long friend of South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster, had said as recently as last week he would not resign. McMaster accepted the resignation effective April 30.

The Senate panel investigating the financial misstatement issued a damning report last week accusing Eckstrom of "willful neglect of duty.” As recently as last week, however, Eckstrom had said he would not resign.

Bob Scott

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Bob Scott has provided information to the tax and accounting community since 1991, first as technology editor of Accounting Today, and from 1997 through 2009 as editor of its sister publication, Accounting Technology. He is known throughout the industry for his depth of knowledge and for his high journalistic standards.  Scott has made frequent appearances as a speaker, moderator and panelist and events serving tax and accounting professionals. He  has a strong background in computer journalism as an editor with two former trade publications, Computer+Software News and MIS Week and spent several years with weekly and daily newspapers in Morris County New Jersey prior to that.  A graduate of Indiana University with a degree in journalism, Bob is a native of Madison, Ind