Lander University is taking steps to prevent financial scandals such as those that surfaced in recent years from happening again.
Scott McKay, a partner at the accounting firm Cherry Bekaert, presented the findings of an internal audit to Lander’s board of trustees on Tuesday.
“When I arrived at Lander two and a half years ago one of the first things that (president) Cosentino and I talked about was having an internal audit,” said vice president for business and administration Greg Lovins. The audit was, perhaps, overdue.
In 2014, IT specialist Francis Wayne McMahan was found guilty of stealing over $400,000 from the school. In 2016, former assistant controller Chareen Faltermeier Stevenson was found guilty of embezzling over $300,000. And, last year, the inspector general wrote a scathing report that asserted the university’s foundation propped its operations up with funds from the very institution it is tasked with supporting while filing misleading financial statements that overstated contributions.
McKay said the university had a “great set of internal controls” but suggested a few…
