COLUMBIA, S.C. (NEWSnet/AP) — South Carolina's top accountant will step down after a $3.5 billion error was reported in a year-end financial report he oversaw, according to a letter written Thursday that was obtained by The Associated Press.

Republican Comptroller General Richard Eckstrom's decision to leave the post came after intense scrutiny of his performance following the blunder and amid rising calls for him to either quit or be removed.

The resignation is effective April 30.

The Senate panel investigating the financial misstatement concluded that Eckstrom was solely responsible for the mapping error, which happened during the state's transition to a new internal information system from 2011 to 2017. The mistake went unsolved until a junior staffer fixed the error this fall.

While the overstatement did not affect the state budget, lawmakers said the comptroller failed to fulfill one of his primary constitutional duties: to publish an accurate account of state finances.

The Senate must now select a replacement to serve out the rest of Eckstrom’s term, which ends in 2027.

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