Howard Beaty — Howard Beaty is addressed and then asked to explain the planned standard operating procedure for monthly accounts receivable and accounts payable reconciliations.
Howard Beaty — The chair called on Representative Beatty, likely referring to Howard Beaty.
Howard Beaty — Acknowledged the clarification that private and state-performed audits both come before the committee with findings.
Howard Beaty — Referenced as having school districts that are performing very well.
Hope Duke — Co-chair Hope Duke was recognized by the chair and then asked about Finding One, noting that it has appeared in previous audits and asking what has been implemented to prevent it from recurring in a fifth audit.
Hope Duke — Thanked by the speaker after the student's billing issue was discussed.
Hope Duke — Co-chair Duke asks for updates on licensing-board outcomes and how to prevent repeat misconduct in other districts.
Hope Duke — Representative Hope Duke asked a follow-up question about oversight and accountability for private audits, specifically whether the executive committee can request additional review when private audit reports raise concerns.
Tyler Dees — Addressed as Mr. Chair.
Fredrick Love — Representative Beatty is referenced as having touched on the issue earlier; likely a transcription error for a member name, but kept as spoken text.
Fredrick Love — Senator Fredrick Love questioned staff about the four unavailable items, asking whether they were major assets or older items. After the chair acknowledged him and invited another question, Love followed up by asking why West Memphis had not been looked at previously, continuing the same line of inquiry about the status and review of the items/sites.
Fredrick Love — Senator Love is referenced in an exchange where the speaker suggests the question be directed to staff for clarification, and later notes they are proceeding in response to the Senator's earlier question.
Catherine Doner — Catherine Doner is praised for effectively managing a large college operation with a very lean team, staying on top of a major workload, and serving as a steady, reliable force for the university during a period of significant turnover and change.
Wayne Long — Recognized to speak next.
Wayne Long — Asked how large the department is that handles this portion of the college's operations.
Wayne Long — The chair recognizes Representative Long and then Representative Mayberry.
Wayne Long — Representative Long questions why schools would pay a private firm for audits when free state audit services are available, and continues pressing the point that this is something the committee should look into.
Julie Mayberry — Representative Julie Mayberry continues a related line of questioning, noting that she had similar questions to Representative Duke and asking whether students who were not charged for a class may have received scholarship money back.
Julie Mayberry — Representative Julie Mayberry asked for clarification about the district’s audit history, specifically whether it had gone without a public audit until the previous year and what distinction existed between public and private audits.
Brad Hall — Representative Brooks is recognized to ask whether the software issue may have affected other institutions.
Brad Hall — Representative Beatty asks whether the prior finding was about capitalization of construction assets or fixed assets.
Eric Foister — Eric Foister, superintendent of West Memphis Schools, introduced himself and explained that the district had just undergone its first legislative audit for FY24, noting that the district had not previously had a public audit and that he was unaware of the findings until after the audit. He then described the district’s corrective steps, including establishing stronger internal controls, implementing a three-level requisition and purchase order approval process, tagging equipment, retiring old assets that had not been inventoried for years, and requiring larger purchases to receive board approval. He emphasized that these changes were part of improving procedures, separation of duties, and overall inventory and purchasing oversight.