Report Leaves UCSF Medical School Debate Unresolved
On Monday, an outside accounting firm said it could not reconcile financial statements by the dean's office at UC-San Francisco School of Medicine because of incomplete reports on the school's financial activities, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
UCSF hired accounting firm KPMG in July 2007 to evaluate an internal review of accusations by former medical school Dean David Kessler that there were financial irregularities at the school. The internal review found that the school was in good financial standing (Schevitz, San Francisco Chronicle, 2/5).
Kessler, who was fired in December 2007, said he was let go after challenging the university on the financial position of its medical school. Kessler maintains that the school's income and financial resources are less than what he was told when he was recruited to take the helm at the medical school in 2003 (California Healthline, 12/17/07).
KPMG said that it could not replicate the university's methodology for its internal review because the university's financial statements do not include all financial activity from the dean's office (San Francisco Chronicle, 2/5). KPMG only attempted to reconcile finances at the dean's office with the university's fee schedule and did not audit the underlying figures.
The firm recommended that the university develop an automated system to reconcile its financial statements and general ledger.
Kessler said the report "substantiates that there were financial irregularities for closed fiscal years and a lack of financial controls" (Ornstein, Los Angeles Times, 2/5).
The university said that the report substantiated its findings that the dean's office is in good financial health (San Francisco Chronicle, 2/5).