The Tribune

By LAMECH JOHNSON

Tribune Staff Reporter

ljohnson@tribunemedia.net

THE College of The Bahamas has announced that it will begin an immediate search for a new vice-president of finance as it prepares itself for transition to university status.

The institution, which came under scrutiny after revelations of poor auditing practices and investigations into alleged fraud, issued a statement on Friday that current VP Marlo Murphy-Braynen gave notice that she will not be seeking a renewal of her three-year contract when it expires in February 2016.

She had been appointed to the position in early 2013 after previously serving as director of the Business Office.

“The college is deeply grateful for the efforts and commitment to efficiency demonstrated by Mrs Murphy-Braynen,” said a statement from COB’s Office of Communications.

“The college will immediately begin the search process for identifying a new vice president for finance.”

“As the College of The Bahamas is on the verge of transitioning to the University of The Bahamas, Dr (Paul) Bylaska will strengthen the financial administration system, with robust accountability checks, provide training for staff and ensure the completion of outstanding audits,” the statement added.

Dr Bylaska was recently hired as a financial administrative consultant having served as vice-president of finance and administration at Clarion University of Pennsylvania.

He was responsible for the budget, accounts receivable and payable, human resources and payroll, purchasing, including procurement and disbursement, and general ledger maintenance and reconciliation.

“In addition to the above steps toward increased efficiency within a model of continuous improvement, the college will also be seeking to increase the resources and manpower within the office of the chief internal auditor.”

“For the past three years, Erald Thompson has served as the lone chief internal auditor. The college will be looking to employ an additional internal auditor in the very near future,” the college’s statement concluded.

In October, The Tribune reported on an audit of COB completed this year by Baker Tilly & Gomez (BTG) for the period ending June 30, 2011 that provided insight on areas of weak internal controls at the institution.

The 36-page document obtained by The Tribune lists a litany of faults found in COB’s internal control processes and procedures, ranging from failures to conduct timely bank reconciliation procedures to failure to adequately train staff.

One practice by the college, the report noted, could have even resulted in theft.

Three weeks ago, police received a complaint from the college that an employee allegedly defrauded the institution of thousands of dollars.

Well-placed sources told The Tribune that an employee is suspected of altering records at the college to allegedly defraud the school out of more than $25,000.

Although the college did not go into explicit details about the matter in a statement it had issued because it was “limited with respect to its ability to disclose further information,” it did confirm that police were brought in to conduct the investigation.

COB added that once it received details of the alleged “violation,” officials suspended the individual in question without pay pending the outcome of the police probe.