Dear SEANC members,

We are now in receipt of the audit conducted by Bond Beebe, a respected national accounting firm retained by SEIU to conduct a thorough investigation of our financial systems and processes. On behalf of the SEANC Executive Committee, I am providing the audit executive summary for your review. 

Read the audit report here.

The results of the audit are clear: Our former Executive Director, Mr. Dana Cope, grossly misused SEANC credit cards and misappropriated SEANC funds for personal gain during the period of October 1, 2012 and February 16, 2015.  Despite clear and established policies and procedures designed to prevent the use of SEANC funds and credit cards for personal reasons, Mr. Cope did so willingly and often, accumulating a total of $494,043.06 in unjustified appropriations and credit card charges.

An effort to recoup all of these funds is well underway. In the meantime, we have instituted several important changes to our financial systems, many of which were instituted well in advance of this audit report. They are as follows:

• SEANC’s Treasurer, Gloria Evans, now personally signs all checks issued by SEANC.
• A manual check process has been implemented:
• The SEANC Treasurer must be notified by email with a request to have a manual check processed, which will require use of the Treasurer’s signature stamp on the requested check.
  • The email must contain a scanned copy of the Check Authorization Form/Purchase Order Request and copy of the invoice associated with the check request.
  • The Treasurer must email back his approval for the finance staff to process the manual check, which will be attached to the check documentation.
  • Upon the next onsite visit by the Treasurer, the manual check copy and all the correspondence will be made available for the Treasurer’s review and signature.
  • All manual checks require signature by the Executive Director or his designee.
• The Executive Director must review and approve all wire (ACH) payments.
• No check can be issued without an approved Check Authorization Form/Purchase Order Request explaining fully the purpose for payment, regardless of amount.
• No purchase of $1,000 or more can be approved without three bids as mandated by SEANC’s Operations Manual.
• Credit card assignments have been reviewed and reassigned only if authorized to use a SEANC credit card. Each card and account number is assigned to one person.
• A credit limit of $5,000 has been set on each credit card.
• Credit card charges are limited to fuel and hotel expenses unless approved by a supervisor.
• Employees are not permitted to charge purchases on another employee’s credit card.
• Division directors are required to review each employee’s credit card statement on a monthly basis to ensure proper documentation.
• Credit card receipts must be filed with the credit card statements instead of filing them with an expense statement.

Additionally, we agree with all 14 recommendations offered by the Bond Beebe audit team and intend to implement policies or stress renewed emphasis on existing policies to effectuate the recommendations.

Based on my observations over the last few weeks and upon review of this audit report, these findings stem from a culture of submissiveness, deliberately built over time by Mr. Cope, and maintained for his own financial benefit. As a result, established financial controls were compromised, transparency thwarted and the truth denied.

In summary, Mr. Cope’s misconduct left an unfortunate cloud of suspicion hovering over SEANC and its members – many of whom are good and honorable volunteers that help lead an organization with an important mission. Fortunately, this report and the actions we have taken and will soon take will lead to a swift and meaningful change in our management culture so that together we can deliver on our mission to protect and defend the interests of retired, current and future state employees without delay or distraction.

As always, we will update you with developments when appropriate.