Orange County Register reports that the State’s $1.6 billion computer system [is] beset  by woes:

Five months before selecting a contractor, the state of California has already spent $62.6 million on a computer project that the state auditor says is beset by problems with staffing, funding and conflicts of interest.

State Auditor Elaine Howle comes to this conclusion in her new annual letter about the Financial Information System for California, or Fi$Cal, project.

TechLeader.TV has reported its displeasure with FI$CAL calling it the most overplanned, overscheduled (12 years)  and over budgeted ($1.6 billion) project in state history. We even recommended its cancellation to the new Brown Administration one year ago as part of our $5 billion in IT related savings. Eliminate $1.8 billion Financial Information System for California (FI$Cal) Project  – Savings: $1.7 billion

Howle again highlights ongoing staffing shortages on the project, the lack of a funding stream to pay for it, apparent conflicts over governance on the project as well as transparency and suitable access for the independent project oversight team.

With primary systems integrator vendor award expected in May involving a bake off between IBM and Accenture, there’s a lot at stake. Add to that the uncertainly surrounding Governor Brown’s 2012-13 budget unveiled last week calling for the elimination of the California Technology Agency, and State of California IT has a real mess on its hands.