Alex was very good at what he
did. Shortly before his death, he became the first person in Tennessee to earn
the designation of Certified Administrator of School Finance and Operations
from the Association of School Business Officials International.
His job carried with it
tremendous responsibility, which was evident in the hundreds of his work files
we’ve reviewed. From day one, as he’d told us, he was cleaning up messes. Alex
was continually working to ensure that the school district financials were
properly maintained and that all monies were accounted for.
As we mentioned in our letter
to the FBI, Alex had been revising policies and giving training to staff to
combat fraud, waste and abuse within the system. We presume this is what Mr.
Bailey meant when he told us, “The biggest thing that Alex was doing was
stepping on peoples toes because he was doing his job well.”
During the Spring of 2011, Alex
prepared this presentation that emphasizes Tennessee law on fraud reporting. One month before his death in June
2011, Alex developed this power point and gave training to staff based on
negative 2010 audit findings.
As we understand it, audit
findings do not necessarily expose fraud or waste; rather, they highlight weaknesses
or risks in controls and procedures. Management is left to delve into those
discoveries and take corrective actions. After reviewing the 2010 audit and
these power points, these statements indicate that Alex found numerous problems
throughout multiple areas of the school system:
“correction – not cover-up….improper or no bids….deficit fund
balances….inadequate collection records…..bank deposits not made
timely….purchase authorizations not completed properly, dated after
invoice…..inadequate separation of duties…invoice amount does not equal check
amount…collection records not prepared for all collections"
Findings Deserving Undivided Attention:
· Cash/check
ration in collection records did not agree with bank
· Receipts
did not agree with collection logs
· Money
receipted does not reconcile with deposits
· No
deposits for October, February and June
· Receipts
could not be traced to deposit
· Receipt
totals not matched with deposit totals
· Teacher
receipts not issued to payee and had wrong date
· Invoice
amount does not equal check amount”
