Accounting manager will be finance department deputy

Andy Babbitt, the accounting manager at the state Department of Finance and Administration, has been appointed as the state controller and deputy director at the department, department Secretary Larry Walther announced Tuesday.

“This is a critical position for DFA and the State of Arkansas,” Walther said in a news release.

“The position requires significant high-level accounting experience along with a thorough understanding of state services and departments,” he said. “With decades of experience auditing departments throughout state government, Andy brings the skill set needed to the state controller role. I look forward to Andy leading this talented team.”

Babbitt’s annual salary will increase from $118,086 to $150,702 as a result of accepting the state controller/deputy director post at the finance department, said Scott Hardin, a spokesman for the finance department. Paul Louthian formerly held the state controller/ deputy director position before he retired Jan. 31.

The controller and deputy director oversees the finance department’s accounting division, which ensures fiscal integrity within the state’s financial records and serves as a centralized reporting source for state appropriations and funds, the finance department said in the news release. This includes the state of Arkansas’s Annual Comprehensive Financial Report (ACFR).

The Office of Accounting also has handled all accounting and reporting for the state’s federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act funding and the federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding. The accounting office also oversees the department’s Office of Information Services, which is responsible for managing the Information technology resources of the finance department.

Babbitt joined the finance department as accounting manager in July 2021. He previously was a senior auditor at Arkansas Legislative Audit, where he worked for 25 years.

He has been a certified public accountant since 1998 and is a certified fraud examiner through the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners.

He has 27 years of governmental accounting experience, including the design of internal controls and business processes.

Babbitt is a graduate of the University of Arkansas at Little Rock where he obtained a bachelor of science degree in accounting and a master of business administration degree.