The Story of OSC
The Office of the State Controller provides financial management services to North Carolina state agencies, ensuring that state funds are spent, accounted for and reported consistent with national accounting standards. The Office acts as the business office for the State of North Carolina, overseeing functions like financial accounting, cash management, payroll and other business-related activities. Included in this responsibility is the development, management, and operation of computer systems necessary to meet the business requirements outlined above.
As the agency responsible for overseeing North Carolina’s business practices, the Office of the State Controller has undertaken a number of initiatives to modernize the State’s financial and business operations.
The largest is BEACON, an effort to replace outdated technology and business processes with a core business infrastructure that will standardize and centralize many of the State’s business operations. This core business system (ERP) will replace individual systems developed by agencies as much as 30 years ago, and will focus initially on updating payroll and personnel systems. Once that project is completed, the next phase of BEACON will provide the technological backbone for additional projects to modernize the State’s accounting, budgeting, and cash management operations.
The Office of the State Controller also is overseeing the development of North Carolina’s electronic commerce efforts. That initiative is steadily replacing the use of paper checks with the electronic transfer of funds, along with expanded acceptance of credit/debit cards and the use of credit/debit cards by state agencies.. The State also has moved to electronic procurement of most supplies and services.
To ensure that state agencies are complying with the accounting practices established by the Office of the State Controller and other policies intended to limit the State’s exposure to risk, a risk mitigation initiative keeps track of a number of issues ranging from credit card industry standards to the proper taxation of foreign nationals employed by the State.
The Controller’s Office was formed in 1986 when it was carved out off the Office of the State Auditor and the Office of State Budget and Management. Prior to that time, a section within the Auditor’s Office prescribed the accounting standards used by state agencies to keep track of funds. A change in accounting standards, however, required greater separation between accountants who set up business practices and auditors who checked to see that those practices meet generally accepted accounting standards. In addition, the disbursement and payroll responsibilities were moved from the Office of State Budget and Management to the Office of the State Controller.
The State Controller, who acts as North Carolina’s Chief Financial Officer, is nominated by the Governor and confirmed by the General Assembly for a seven-year term. The nomination and confirmation process ensures that the Office of the State Controller can operate independently, without influence from external sources. The current State Controller is David McCoy who has served in this capacity since September 2008.