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Former UF President Ben Sasse said a completed audit found no wrongdoing in his spending, but according to public records, that audit never took place.
In an August 16 X-post responding to an earlier Alligator report on his spending, Sasse wrote, “It is my understanding that our board’s audit committee has done its job diligently and has not made any findings of concern.”
A request from The Alligator for all internal audits requested in the 2023-2024 fiscal year was denied without reference to an audit by the UF president. Expenses related to Sasse were not among the 17 audit requests listed in the report.
There is also no documentation of a current, future or completed audit by the state.
The Florida State University System Board of Regents announced on Aug. 15 that it would conduct its own audit of UF’s office of president. Florida Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis announced that the Florida Department of Revenue would assist the Florida Board of Regents in investigating any fraud or misconduct in Sasse’s spending.
“The Florida Auditor General has been engaged to conduct an audit of this matter,” Devin Galetta, Patronis’ communications director, wrote in an email. “The Office of the CFO and the Florida Department of Revenue stand ready to assist as needed.”
A public records request filed with the Florida Department of Revenue also found no evidence that a presidential audit of UF was discussed, planned or conducted by the state.
Cassandra Edwards, communications director for the Florida Board of Governors, said the state’s Office of the Auditor General is conducting its annual audit of UF, which would include presidential spending. The board does not comment on ongoing audits.
When asked if there had ever been a completed audit of Sasse’s spending, UF responded that a state audit was pending.
“We are waiting for the State Auditor General’s work to be completed,” UF spokeswoman Cynthia Roldan wrote in an email.
The university did not follow up on further inquiries about the existence of a completed presidential review that revealed “no findings of concern.” When asked to provide an explanation for the lack of clarification, the university did not respond in time for publication.
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Contact Annie Wang and Sophia Bailly at @[email protected] And [email protected]. Follow them on X @wynwg and @sophia_bailly.
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Sophia Bailly is the fall 2024 campus editor. Last summer, she interned at The Times-Picayune in Louisiana as a Capitol News Bureau reporter. When she’s not reading the news, you can find her listening to podcasts, running, or studying Russian.
Annie Wang is a sophomore journalism major who will be a university administration reporter in fall 2024. She previously wrote for the University Desk as a general assignment reporter. In her free time, she reads and writes book reviews.
