NASC President Anna Maria Kiehl, state comptroller of Pennsylvania, recently welcomed her peers to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, for the thirty-sixth annual conference of the National Association of State Comptrollers. The conference was held March 15-17 at the Hilton Harrisburg. Although several speakers had to participate via phone, and a few attendees were not able to make it because of weather, there were still over 140 in attendance.

The conference was preceded on March 14 by a meeting of NASACT’s Executive Committee, as well as NASC’s Executive Committee and its Committee on Accounting and Financial Reporting.

Technical Agenda & Other Activities

The conference featured three roundtable sessions and general sessions covering a diverse range of topics. View the complete program and download presentations. In addition, attendees were offered a special opportunity to tour Pennsylvania's state capitol on the evening on Thursday, March 16.

One resolution was approved at the conference during the annual business meeting thanking President Kiehl for her service to NASC and its members.

NASC selected a new Executive Committee at the 2017 business meeting. Left to right: Anna Maria Kiehl (PA), immediate past president; Alan Skelton (GA), vice president; Cynthia Cloud (WY), president; Steve Barnette (SD), secretary/treasurer; Lynne Bajema (OK); and Douglas Cotnoir (ME).		For her first order of business, new NASC President Cynthia Cloud presented a plaque of appreciation to Anna Maria Kiehl for her year of service to the association and its members.

 

Awards & Resolutions

At the conference banquet held on Wednesday, March 15, President Kiehl presented three awards to recognize exceptional achievements and service to the association. This year’s recipients were:
 

• Thomas L. White, Jr., former state comptroller of Alabama (deceased), was recognized for his years of service and active involvement with the association. Kathleen Baxter, interim state comptroller in Alabama, accepted the award. 
• Kristopher Knight, former director of the Delaware Division of Finance, was presented with the NASC Distinguished Service Award to recognize his service representing state comptroller views as chair of the Committee on Accounting and Financial Reporting and co-chair of NASACT’s Committee on Accounting, Reporting and Auditing. 
• Jan I. Sylvis, former controller in Tennessee and current vice chair of the Governmental Accounting Standards Board, was presented with NASC’s highest honor, the Louis B. Goldstein Leadership Award. She served as Tennessee’s chief of accounts from 1995-2014 and has served on the GASB since 2007 (she was named vice chair on January 1, 2015). She is a past president of both NASC and NASACT. She has been an inspiration and a mentor to many and has worked tirelessly to improve government financial management. 

One resolution was approved at the conference during the annual business meeting thanking President Kiehl for her service to NASC and its members.
 

Kathleen Baxter accepted the 2017 President Award bestowed posthumously upon Tom White, former vice president of NASC.		Kristopher Knight received the 2017 Distinguished Service Award for his committee service and technical expertise.
Jan Sylvis received NASC's most prestigous award, the Louis B. Goldstein Leadership Award.		Three of the four recipients of the Goldstein Award were in attendance at the conference. Left to right: Bill Kilmartin (MA), Jan Sylvis (TN) and J.D. Williams (ID). Not pictured: Harvey Eckert (PA).

 

Acknowledgments

NASC wishes to thank all those who helped with the conference, especially Anna Maria Kiehl and her staff. NASC also wishes to thank all the speakers and moderators for sharing their time and expertise. Special gratitude goes to each corporate partner at the conference for their financial support and technical expertise.