The University of Missouri is trying to stop on-campus fraud with a new anonymous Web- and telephone-based system that started last week.

The Fiscal Misconduct Reporting Line was announced in a letter by UM System Interim President Gordon Lamb, citing recommendations by internal and external auditors.

"It’s a control to keep things from happening," said Nikki Krawitz, vice president for finance and administration for the UM System. "If you suspect your supervisor, you can’t go to your supervisor … and you might not know the next person up, or you might not feel comfortable, or there may be a fear of some kind of retribution.

"What this allows us to do is provide management with another vehicle for possibly detecting fraud," she added, saying there was no way the university could estimate how much it loses to fraud each year. "We have no idea if it will save us money or not."

The hot line will be operated by Global Compliance, which claims on its Web site to have introduced the industry’s original hot line for helping companies "maintain a culture of ethical and compliant behavior." Global Compliance will be paid $9,935 for this calendar year, then $6,800 each successive year.

"That’s a lot less than us having to do it," Krawitz said of the hot line that will be available to employees on all four UM campuses. Lamb’s letter and the UM System Web site said fraud or fiscal misconduct can include statements or actions that violate internal financial policies, unlawful gifts, bribes, theft, misuse of funds under grants or contracts as well as the destruction of financial documents.

The announcement comes after a recent theft of $10,000 to $20,000 from parking operations during MU’s Oct. 6 home football game against Nebraska.

MU Police Capt. Scott Richardson said yesterday that case had not been solved. Initial investigations included employee interviews to uncover more information.

The last major criminal fraud at MU occurred in 2005, when former Assistant Recreational Facilities Director Robert Osman charged about $5,000 of personal merchandise on his university-supplied procurement card. The actions by Osman, who was responsible for helping to equip MU’s $50 million Student Recreational Center, went undetected for nearly a year before an internal investigation led to his questioning.

Krawitz said the recent theft and other cases did not spur the decision to add a fraud hot line, which has been in the works for more than a year.

She also said the phone or Web tips would be handled like any other suspected case of fraud or fiscal misconduct and that a tip would not necessarily mean someone is implicated. Reports will be forwarded to the appropriate campus representative and the general counsel’s office or the office of finance and administration, as necessary.

In a related policy change that took effect in September, the university is requiring background checks of new and current employees when they are transferred or promoted outside of their department. The checks look nationwide for criminal cases and review the Missouri Sex Offender Registry.

Blake Danuser, UM System associate vice president for human resources, said the policy isn’t new but is an extension of existing policy. Danuser said new staff members have been checked for criminal convictions in the state of Missouri, but not the faculty.

The new searches, conducted by Validity Screening Solutions of Kansas City, will check all faculty and staff against criminal records nationwide and offer the option of doing an additional background check on education and driving records. Danuser said UM hired more than 2,200 staff this year.

Danuser could not say how much each background check would cost, and Validity did not return a call asking for the price per background check.

Danuser said a criminal record alone would not preclude someone from a job at the university.

"There is a process that allows the academic side with the provost and the administrative service and support up through the vice chancellor to review and determine the appropriateness or the relevance to the job being performed."

Advertisement