By Lubna Hindi —

Results of a university-wide audit were announced at today’s U of L Board of Trustees audit committee meeting after the state attorney general’s office requested that they be released by July 2. Representatives from auditors Strothman and Company discussed 17 recommendations to decrease chances of fraud at the university.

These recommendations included increasing university control over vendors and standardizing university financial policies and processes.

“We have found that many of these policies are already in place but are being appplied inconsistently or not at all,” said Bill Meyers, Strothman and Co. representative who spoke to the committee on the findings.

U of L President James Ramsey said in the meeting the university plans to follow the recommendations, and has begun developing a timeline for their implementation.

The findings come after a series of fraud and embezzlement cases coming from members of the university. The most recent case involved former director of the Department of Family and Geriatric Medicine, Perry Chadwick Vaughn, who was found funneling $2.8 million through the use of unmonitored bank accounts. One of the recommendations includes increased monitoring of non-university bank accounts to prevent similar situations.

Committee members questioned how cost-effective the recommendations would be. The recommendations call for one or two additional full-time positions that could be filled with current university employees.

“We’re hiring people who will generate no revenue,” said professor and board member Joe Steffen said on the cost of implementing the recommendations.

The committee will review the newly implemented policies within 90 days to determine if they are effective or need further review.