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Meet North Carolina State Auditor Dave Boliek
North Carolina State Auditor Dave Boliek may be a lawyer by trade, but he knows a thing or two about auditing.
After spending years focused on his legal career, including serving as an Assistant District Attorney in Cumberland County and working in private practice, Boliek faced a problem he hadn’t dealt with before: UNC-Chapel Hill, his alma mater and where he was serving as Chairman of the Board of Trustees, had a steep operating deficit and was using 16 different budgets.
Boliek took action. He led the effort to eliminate the university’s operating deficit and created the Board’s first Audit and Risk Committee. He made it so the school operated under one budget, and proudly points out that S&P Global Ratings even included a footnote that tipped its cap to what Boliek helped accomplish at UNC. Boliek’s work as Chairman confirmed it for him; he was going to take his skills statewide and run for State Auditor. He won the race later that year, and on January 1, 2025, Dave Boliek was sworn in as the 21st State Auditor of North Carolina.
While Boliek may be new to the position, he certainly isn’t new to North Carolina. Born in Lincolnton, he has also lived in Fayetteville, Durham, Eden, Greensboro, Chapel Hill, Thomasville, Hickory, Boone, and Raleigh. And over that time, he’s worked with government at the local, state, and federal levels. All this to say, Boliek has a keen sense of what North Carolinians want out of their government, and as State Auditor, he’s determined to deliver.
The Office of the State Auditor (OSA) is what Boliek likes to call “a sleeping giant.” It’s not the largest state agency—about 160 people spread across five offices—but Boliek believes strongly in the potential within. “What [our staff] is interested in doing is serving the people of North Carolina, holding government accountable at all levels, and doing a fantastic job on behalf of the taxpayers,” Boliek said at the first Council of State meeting.
How does he plan on delivering? Facing a white board, about a week or so into office, Boliek wrote down the three thought bubbles above his head: the statutorily required audits conducted steadily throughout the year known as the “bread and butter” of OSA, the priorities which include auditing the Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV) and hurricane relief, and then the office itself.
Those bread-and-butter audits have been underway since Boliek took office. In the first month, five have already been published with more scheduled to be released throughout the year. Most of these are financial statement audits of universities and community colleges, which assess whether the records prepared by schools are materially correct.
Beyond the financial audits are the office’s performance, investigative, and information systems audits. These types of audits are where OSA can dig into government entities in ways that other state agencies can’t, bringing transparency, accountability, and improvements to government.
On the performance side, Boliek has his eye on efficiency and effectiveness. “We're putting an increased emphasis on Performance Audits across the state of North Carolina, and asking the question—How can we be more efficient? How can we better serve every individual person in the state of North Carolina,” he recently told the Raleigh Chamber of Commerce.
This is where the DMV and hurricane relief come in. As great a state it is, North Carolina has struggled with delivering adequate DMV services and reliable hurricane relief to its citizens. When Boliek thinks of what’s impacting North Carolinians and the help that is needed right now, the DMV and hurricane relief are two clear choices.
One of Boliek’s first visits was to OSA’s regional office in Asheville. He sat down with the team, made sure they were OK, and discussed what they need in order be operating at their best capability. Afterwards, he toured Swannanoa and saw firsthand that Western North Carolina was still far from full recovery. And with all the money that’s going to flow into the state and region, Boliek knows how important it will be to track those dollars and show the people of North Carolina where that money is going.
With investigative audits, Boliek is planning to increase collaboration with law enforcement and District Attorneys. He also wants to boost the constituent services offered through OSA’s Tipline (1-800-730-TIPS) and put more emphasis on audits of IT systems.
In order to make everything work, Boliek is utilizing outside consultants to assess the office and help create a strategic plan. He’ll be the first to tell you there’s a tremendous amount of talent at OSA, it just needs to be pointed in the right direction. Upholding the transparency pillar, Boliek laid all this out during an all-staff meeting in late January. He discussed his vision for the office, his management style (which includes an open-door policy and preference for white board sessions), and what he expects of OSA. Boliek took several questions from staff as well.
It's been a busy start for State Auditor Boliek, and it’s only going to get busier. A lot of retooling is needed to get the office to peak performance, but there’s no shortage of energy. Boliek will also be the only State Auditor in the country to have election administration under his wing following legislation passed last year that moved management of the North Carolina State Board of Elections to the Office of the State Auditor. Still, Boliek isn’t discouraged by the workload. More than anything, he’s excited to get to work.
Photos courtesy of Tara Lynn & Co. Photographer