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Yahoo
27-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Florida A&M University's CFO blasted by state board over systemic audit failures
This story was originally published on To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily newsletter. Rebecca Brown, the CFO of Florida A&M University, was on the receiving end of harsh remarks from the state's Board of Governors last week after audit findings revealed multiple delayed reconciliations, poor internal controls and the continuation of financial issues the state university system has failed to address for over a decade. During a meeting on June 18, members of the Florida Board of Governors' audit and compliance committee expressed their concerns about the university's finance function and its practices. Multiple board members also questioned Brown's performance. 'From my perspective, the CFO failed pretty miserably in this job,' said Board of Governors member Aubrey Edge, who chairs the audit committee. 'She's been there two years and five months, which is long enough to know that you're not reconciling your statements.' Brown's dual role as CFO and senior vice president for finance and administration came into question regarding the school's poor financial practices. She's held the roles since January 2023. Interim President Timothy Beard said the university is reviewing structural changes to address Brown's dual role. An operational audit of FAMU from July 2022 through Dec. 2023 found delayed bank reconciliations, missing performance evaluations and slow vendor payments that violated both university rules and state law. The audit also found discrepancies in how FAMU's finance team reported restricted and unrestricted investment income and made note that the college's internal accounting controls required improvement. Though FAMU has implemented a corrective action plan, the board referred to the financial issues at FAMU as 'serious' and 'systemic,' signaling the problems are deeper than one-off errors. Edge, who also serves as president and CEO of First Coast Energy, an ownership group of over 160 Daily's and Shell-branded convenience stores throughout Florida, said the issues are more than just Brown's poor performance. 'This is serious. It's systemic, and that's a word I don't think they were tossing around lightly, and this time around it's pretty systemic in the accounting side,' Edge said. He noted the Board of Governors began tracking more than 30 corrective actions at FAMU back in 2013 to address internal control deficiencies and said many of the problems highlighted in the latest audits are similar to those identified back then. CFO turnover, a challenge in businesses across both public and private sectors, is likely a factor in Edge's labeling of the university's financial challenges as systemic. The finance team's track record indeed has its blemishes, like a failure to do due diligence on a $238 million fraudulent donation last year, but the university has also had seven CFOs since 2018, with an average tenure of 11 months per person. Reports indicate several critical finance roles still remain unfilled, like a comptroller and a CPA position. At last week's meeting, FAMU leaders cast blame for the lack of financial controls on turnover. 'We've had instability in leadership, and the turnover has changed the staffing in those functions as well,' FAMU Vice President for Audit Credentials Joseph Maleszewski said. Board member Eric Silagy criticized the university's oversight culture, candidly comparing the situation to what would likely occur if similar finance practices were to be done in the private sector. 'For a chief financial officer to have this systemic breakdown and this loss of risk controls, they would be shown the door so fast it would make their head spin,' Silagy said. 'They sure wouldn't be getting an increase in their base salary, and they sure wouldn't be getting a bonus.' Kristin Harper, FAMU Board of Trustees chair, said a monthly scorecard has been implemented to monitor progress and ensure reconciliations and other corrections remain on track. Brown still serves in her dual role as of now, though her autonomy in managing the finance function is likely to be limited in the upcoming months. The audit concerns come at a time when the perceived value of higher education is under increasing pressure nationwide. Dozens of colleges have announced closures or mergers in recent years amid declining enrollment and rising operational costs. At the same time, public confidence in universities has eroded due to ballooning student loan debt and questions over return on investment. For public institutions, as well as those that are Historically Black Colleges and Universities like FAMU, ongoing financial mismanagement and governance failures risk further undermining trust. Other HBCUs have had financial problems of their own due to poor leadership, and the consequences of poor financial controls have been playing out in some of the country's largest public university systems. Recommended Reading Oklahoma State University names a new CFO after audit finds $41M in misallocations
Yahoo
09-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
'A critical economic engine': FAMU celebrates its impact at the Florida Capitol
Orange and green filled the Florida Capitol courtyard Wednesday as Florida A&M University celebrated its annual Day at the Capitol. The event drew a crowd of alumni, faculty, staff, students, and local officials. The Marching 100 and FAMU cheerleaders filled the space with booming brass and rhythm as they played a few crowd favorites that had alumni singing along as they performed. Following their performance, interim FAMU President Timothy Beard took the podium to a standing ovation. He reflected on his own time as a student, connecting the university's past to its present momentum. 'When I was a student in the early '80s, I heard (FAMU President) Walter Smith many times use the saying, 'FAMU means more than athletics and music.' That was 45 years ago,' Beard said. 'FAMU has produced remarkable results—strengthening the workforce, building the talent pipeline, and fueling economic growth. FAMU is a critical economic engine in our community, generating substantial returns year after year.' Florida State University System Chancellor Ray Rodrigues also took to the stage, praising the university's far-reaching impact. 'You attract students from all over the country,' Rodrigues said. 'With over 20,000 applicants, and 61% of your bachelor's degree graduates staying right here in Florida, FAMU plays a vital role in strengthening our economy.' The celebration extended indoors on the second and third floors of the Capitol rotunda. Various colleges and programs within FAMU showcased exhibits that highlighted student research and innovation. While FAMU's annual celebration at the Capitol takes place during the legislative session for stakeholders to advocate on behalf of the university's needs, FAMU National Alumni Association President Curtis Johnson does not think efforts should stop there. 'My charge to alumni is that we extend beyond just FAMU Day at the Capitol and that for us, it's a 365-day charge of developing, growing and nurturing relationships with our electees in our respective communities so that they are familiar with who we are and what we represent,' Johnson told the Tallahassee Democrat Wednesday. 'We're working lockstep with FAMU Government Relations since our advocacy is directly aligned with the university and what its legislative priorities are in the state and nationally.' FAMU's $55.5 million legislative request this year includes $35.5 million for academic excellence efforts such as 'leveraging Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) technologies to revolutionize teaching, learning and research,' recruitment and retention for the College of Law, and renovations for the FAMU Center for Viticulture and Small Fruit Research at the College of Agriculture and Food Sciences. The remaining $20 million in FAMU's request would go toward student success initiatives such as recruitment scholarships and academic support for transfer students. While the main purpose of FAMU Day at the Capitol is to tout university achievements while individuals such as alumni, students and faculty seek support from lawmakers, this year it all comes during a time where FAMU is also seeking a new president. The university's presidential search committee is in the process of holding closed-door sessions, where it recently reviewed candidate applications and is expected to conduct first-round interviews Monday and Tuesday. But Johnson says there is 'not at all' an urge for lobbying to take place during the Wednesday event at the Capitol regarding FAMU's search for a new leader. 'Our main focus today is to go and make sure the legislators in the state of Florida are aware of our legislative budget request. Our theme today is laser-focused on that, making sure they are aware of that, and making sure those critical components are funded because they are essential to the existence of Florida A&M.' Tallahassee City Commissioners Dianne Williams-Cox and Curtis Richardson were among the dignitaries present, along with members of FAMU's Board of Trustees, including Chair Kristin Harper, Kelvin Lawson, and Student Government Association President Loryn May. Higher Education Reporter Tarah Jean contributed to this report. Mishalynn Brown can be reached at MBrown1@ Follow her on Twitter at @mishalynnb This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: FAMU celebrates its impact at the Capitol as state Legislature meets
