Harvey C. Eckert

2017 Hall of Fame Inductee

Harvey C. Eckert was appointed Pennsylvania’s deputy secretary for comptroller operations in 1983. He was president of both NASACT and the National Association of State Comptrollers.
 
Under his leadership, Pennsylvania was the seventh state to receive GFOA’s Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting, and the first state to receive it on the first try. He helped Pennsylvania become recognized as a model of excellence in state financial management and facilitated major improvements in administration, accounting, auditing and systems development.
 
He served during a formative time for modern government financial reporting. He was a proponent of the establishment of the GASB and the conversion by state governments to generally accepted accounting principles. He served twice as a member of GASB’s advisory group, the GASAC, in the late 80s through the mid 90s, and he was GASAC’s chairman from 1996 through June 2005.
 
Eckert established his state as a leader in the implementation and performance of the Single Audit Act, providing single audit expertise to the federal government and state and local governments around the country.
 
He was a strong advocate for the creation of a national-level CFO position as well as passage of the Cash Management Improvement Act of 1990, which enhanced the transfer of funds between the federal government and the states.
 
Eckert was a champion of new technologies that would eventually enable electronic benefit transfer and other electronic and web-based payment methods. He chaired the Mid-Atlantic Regional Coalition of EBT as well as NACHA’s Electronic Benefits Services Council.
 
He was a key partner in one of the largest state systems development efforts of the time, integrating all of the commonwealth’s central administrative systems into a central database, and generously sharing lessons learned along the way with his peers.
 
He has received numerous awards from industry groups including the prestigious Donald L. Scantlebury Memorial Award for Distinguished Leadership in Financial Management Improvement and NASC’s Louis L. Goldstein Leadership Award.
 
Harvey Eckert’s lifetime of accomplishments is a testament to his extensive knowledge and expertise, and tangible proof of his commitment to continuous improvement in government.