Much of the $1.8 billion was found in a bank account only ever existed on paper, but legislators are left puzzled over how the mistake happened under Treasurer Curtis Loftis.

SC Treasurer Curtis Loftis says transparency is the cornerstone of his administration, and he's been unfairly criticized over existence of $1.8 billion

In South Carolina, the fallout from a $1.8 billion accounting error cost the job of the state auditor, while the state treasurer is vowing to push forward with a promise of transparency. An independent audit released earlier this month found that $1.

State Auditor George Kennedy, who has been caught in the middle of the state’s accounting issues, including over whether a mysterious $1.8 billion existed, resigned from his job Thursday, according to sources with knowledge of the resignation.

A South Carolina Department of Administration report revealed origins of a $1.8 billion accounting discrepancy that has puzzled lawmakers and residents alike.

I think it’s important to note, this is not any fraud, this is not a misrepresentation, that this is just incompetence, in errors that have occurred over a period of time,” SC House Speaker Murrell Smith said.

This comes after an independent forensic audit determined an accounting error was responsible for nearly $2 billion mysteriously sitting in South Carolina’s bank account.

COLUMBIA, S.C. — It turns out that $1.8 billion in South Carolina state funds weren’t just sitting in a bank account waiting to be spent. Instead, it was an accounting error compounded over years instead of being reconciled, an independent forensic audit determined.

The results of the audit found that $1.6 billion of the $1.8 billion believed to have existed was the "result of incorrect journal entries."

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WSPA) – George Kennedy, South Carolina’s State Auditor, resigned from office Thursday. Kennedy, who has served in the position since October 2015, sent a letter of resignation to Governor Henry McMaster and the State Fiscal Accountability Authority.

State Auditor George Kennedy's resignation follows the 2023 resignation of former Comptroller General Richard Eckstrom.

An independent forensic audit has unveiled a $1.8 billion accounting oversight in South Carolina's state funds, dispelling hopes of a financial windfall. This discovery, rooted in past errors and compounded over years,