Lori Johnson was named university controller in late February, after almost 20 years of experience working with NC State finances. The previous university controller was David Price, who retired last spring.
The university controller is responsible for things such as budgeting, tax compliance and financial statements. They also oversee areas such as accounting, cash services and various financial operations.
“The university controller position is basically the steward over all the financial data in the system,” Johnson said. “It’s an important clearing-house in making sure that all the revenues and expenses are correctly reported and disseminated into the financial report.”
According to the university controller’s website, the controller’s office aims to uphold the integrity of the Financial Accounting and Reporting System. They ensure that financial records are correct and available to a number groups such as the Board of Governors and the NC State Board of Trustees, while abiding by all laws and regulations.
“One of the duties of the controller’s office is to help the wheels get down the road smoothly, so what the controller’s office does and what this position does is enable the train to move down the tracks and to stay on the tracks,” Johnson said.
Johnson said her position is an important part of stewardship shown to the citizens of the state and to the students who attend or support the university.
She said her experience at the university gave her more expertise in how to effectively carry out her position.
“I have been at NC State for nineteen years,” Johnson said. “I originally started in the controller’s office as the financial manager and learned a lot about the financial system. Being there really gave me a chance to work with a number of departments and colleges to understand how things work and allow me to see the big picture of things.”
Johnson’s job also includes communicating with a variety of different departments to ensure all regulations are followed by the school.
“NC State is a wonderful institution,” Johnson said. “I love working here because of all the brilliant things that are being done by all the students and faculty. What I want the controller’s office to do is to enable that work to continue as smoothly as we can while we keep everyone compliant with all of the rules and regulations that we have to comply with, both at the state level and the federal level.”
Johnson said she has great hopes and expectations for the future of NC State and plans to continue helping NC State run as well as possible.
“The future of NC State is bright,” Johnson said. “We are going places that I don’t think were even thought of a couple of decades ago, and so I really feel we are in the midst of a partnership of the controller’s office with the different colleges at NC State, and that will help the institution get as far as it can go.”
