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South Carolina voters choosing their next comptroller general will find a clear contrast on the Nov. 3 ballot: a certified public accountant working inside the office and a businessman promising to modernize it.
Democrat Tiffany Boozer and Republican Mike Burkhold are competing for an open seat responsible for keeping the state’s books and maintaining accounting controls across state government.
The office has received unusual attention since a $3.5 billion reporting error led longtime Comptroller General Richard Eckstrom to resign in 2023. Brian Gaines, appointed by Republican Gov. Henry McMaster after Eckstrom’s departure, is not seeking a full term.
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Two different résumés
Boozer, a CPA, has worked as the office’s quality assurance manager since January 2025. She previously held auditing positions with several state agencies.
Her campaign emphasizes accurate financial reporting, stronger internal controls and compliance with governmental accounting standards. Boozer argues that the technical office should be led by someone with professional accounting credentials and government auditing experience.
Burkhold founded Equiscript, a health care technology company that tracks large numbers of transactions. He says his business experience prepared him to modernize the state’s financial operations and make spending easier for taxpayers to follow.
His proposals include an online taxpayer checkbook displaying transactions and program-level information, including how much money was appropriated, spent and left unused.
Accounting problems shape the race
The $3.5 billion error remains the defining backdrop. The mistake overstated the state’s reported cash balances for about a decade after money transferred to colleges and universities was effectively counted twice.
The error did not represent $3.5 billion in missing cash, but lawmakers said it exposed serious weaknesses in oversight. A state Senate report accused Eckstrom of neglecting his duties and ignoring warnings about flawed reporting.
More recently, an $11 million discrepancy involving the state’s Capital Reserve Fund delayed the issuance of some fiscal 2025-26 financial reports and deepened tensions between the comptroller general’s and state treasurer’s offices.
Insider versus outsider
The candidates broadly agree that the state needs accurate books, stronger accountability and greater transparency. Their main disagreement is over who is better prepared to deliver those changes.
Boozer presents herself as an accounting professional who understands the office and the standards it must follow. Burkhold casts himself as an outside executive ready to challenge existing practices and update state systems.
