The IRE Resource Center is a major research library containing more than 23,250 investigative stories — both print and broadcast. These stories are searchable online or by contacting the Resource Center directly (573-882-3364 or rescntr@ire.org) where a researcher can help you pinpoint what you need. Browse or search the tipsheet section of our library below. Stories are not available for download but can be easily ordered by contacting the Resource Center:
Search results for "financial audits" ...
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Wright Did Not Account for $119,607
Schreiner analyzed Rep. Thomas Wright's campaign disclosures from 1992 to 2006 and compared it to the reports of donors' contribution. "That analysis revealed that Wright hadn't disclosed $119,607 that donors reported that they had sent him."
Tags: campaign finance; accounting; cross-auditing; money; financial records; donors; North Carolina; Blue Cross/Blue Shield; disclosure
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Head Start salaries unreasonable; Head Start not enrolling number of kids it's paid to; Head Start agency rosters padded, ex-employee says; Local Head Start Agency chief set to take $81,829 pay cut; Head Start Conferences keep execs on the road
Using federal financial audits/statements, this investigation looks at the mismanagement of a local Head Start agency. It was discovered that many of the top executives at the Council for Economic Opportunities in Greater Cleveland, the largest Head Start agency in Ohio, have salaries much higher than other Head Start executives in different counties. As a result of this investigation, the executive director took a $82,000 pay cut and county commissioners are reviewing the executives' use of county money.
Tags: financial audits; open records laws; Cincinnati-Hamilton County Community Action; compensation; teacher salaries; executive salaries; Council for Economic Opportunities in Greater Cleveland; nonprofit agencies
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Wrongdoing in Wilmer-Hutchins
Using a hidden camera and the unpaid help of a mold remediation expert, reporters at KDFW exposed severe problems with the Wilmer-Hutchins district high school. News cameras also caught the district using illegal immigrants instead of mold remediation specialists to repair building problems. The investigation also lead to the discovery of mismanagement and fraud in the school district's leadership and its financial records. As a result of this report, a state education agency audit followed, along with investigations by the FBI, IRS, U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour division, and the Federal Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Throughout the investigation, district officials denied any wrongdoing, refused to hand over documents, and were eventually charged with tampering with evidence in the federal investigations.
Tags: standardized testing; bonds; mismanagement of funds; Wilmer-Hutchins school district
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"Caution ahead"
The story deals with the question of being cautious when dealing with investment advisers. Emshwiller says: "[...] the number of novice investors [...] has never been greater. And the fact that they know little makes them the ideal targets for scams." Although there are rules saying investment advisers must be registered, there are many people who work as such without registration. In this respect, the Securities and Exchange Commission and the states "try to catch wrongdoing by auditing investment advisers." Emshwiller adds the ideal thing to do id to interview at least two candidates when choosing a financial adviser, and not to rely on old friendships or word-of-mouth.
Tags: North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA); American Association of Retired Persons; Securities and Exchange Commission; California Department of Corporations; Social Security
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Sleeping with the auditor
SF Weekly looks at the relationship between San Francisco city government and its auditor KPMG, and finds similarities with the Enron scandal. According to the contest entry questionnaire: "For example, the audit's firm consulting division sold accounting software to the city that generated financial statements that were, in turn, audited by the KMPG's own audit division, thereby eliminating important checks and balances mandated by the "overarching principles" that govern auditor independence."
Tags: public sector; financial transactions; accounting; budget; California Board of accountancy
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What's Wevenue? Auditors Miss a Fraud and SEC Tries to Put Them Out of Business
The Wall Street Journal reports that a Coopers & Lybrand missed "an audacious accounting fraud," as it failed to uncover that one of its clients, the chip maker California Micro Devices Corp., was writing off half of its accounts receivable. As a result, about one third of the company's revenue turned out to be spurious. Consequently, the Securities and Exchange Commission sought to bar the faulty auditors who overlooked the chip maker's books. The article examines the deep roots of the company's accounting problems, and the murky past of its chief financial officer.
Tags: PricewaterhouseCoopers; business; Steven J. Henke; Cal Micro; finance; auditing; SEC; justice
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Cop-out
Texas Monthly reports on the difficulty of finding a new police chief for Austin, after the previous one retired following an internal audit. A lot is expected from police chiefs in the modern world; they must be "politically savvy, financially shrewd, charismatic leaders with a mastery of public relations and an ability to simultaneously reduce crime, instill confidence in minority groups, keep officers' loyalties and navigate dangerous political waters." Police chiefs are often no longer hired after moving up through the ranks, but imported from outside. And according to the Police Executive Research Forum the average tenure for chiefs is only two and a half years.
Tags: police departments; police chiefs
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Pittsburgh in Crisis
The Tribune-Review reviewed city and state financial audits and reports filed by the city for potential bond buyers, and found the city $1.68 billion in debt, outpacing the debt of other cities of similar size and spending much more than it took in over the last decade.
Tags: city government; debt; audits; bonds; diskette; budget; economic development; public safety
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No title (id: 10711)
The Argus Leader reveals that the state treasurer accepted more than $250,000 in payment for unclaimed funds from the state's largest employer, Citibank; as a result of the series, the state treasurer lost his re-election bid and Citibank was audited, 1994.
Tags: SD Walker Politics Conflict of Interest Financial Misconduct
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No title (id: 1180)
Greensboro (N.C.) News & Record sifts through an internal audit of the city-owned municipal arena and finds questionable financial practices and irregularities, July 18, 1985.
Tags: None