Tennessee State University is reviewing its policies following allegations from a former finance director who said she resigned after being asked to change financial records and censor her dealings with state auditors.
In a Facebook Live stream last week, Dywuana Morris said she resigned from her position as a financial reporting director for the Nashville-based university on Jan. 3 after becoming uneasy over leadership decisions in the finance department.
Among the issues, Morris said staff asked her to change original drafts of financial reports that she had believed were finalized. In the video, she alluded to officials having an “agenda” for the change but did not elaborate.
“To be asked to sign off on and to be a part of changing numbers that I’m not even aware of what the purpose of the change, and it’s not because of an error, it’s because of an agenda,” she said. “I just could not be a part of it.”
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The issue comes as the Tennessee Comptroller’s higher education division is reviewing TSU’s finances following years of state audit reports detailing financial mismanagement. The university is also under scrutiny from state lawmakers after hundreds of students were housed in hotels for the fall semester due to a campus housing shortage.
Morris, a certified public accountant, joined TSU last year after previously serving as a city comptroller in Memphis, according to her LinkedIn profile. She could not be reached for comment.
TSU in a statement said it was concerned to learn of Morris’ public Facebook post detailing her resignation. The university said it is standard accounting practice to update financial records “to ensure any post year-end adjustments have been captured.”
“These adjustments are subject to audit and in fact are shared with auditors prior to the conclusion of their work,” the university said. “This is part of the normal course of business and should not be attributed to any ulterior motives.”
The university said Morris was invited to join a virtual meeting in December to discuss the financial statements adjustments but failed to attend.
Nonetheless, the university said it has retained a certified public accounting firm to conduct an independent review of Morris’ allegations, as well as its overall financial policies and practices.
In her video, to a backdrop of gospel music, Morris said she was censored in what she could say to state auditors and told that all communications must go through the university controller.
“Each day, I continue to feel uncomfortable with the choices that are being made by TSU financial leadership as it relates to the university’s financial statements and related transactions,” she said.
The university has long struggled with funding and financial issues. A Comptroller’s report released in November found that officials have repeatedly failed to record significant financial transactions and have “continued to disregard basic financial controls” for bank reconciliations.
The university has said it has new processes in place.
John Dunn, a spokesman for the state Comptroller’s office, said the agency is currently reviewing how TSU is managing its enrollment, housing and scholarship programs. Dunn on Tuesday said the report is expected to be presented to state legislators next month.
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While the state is reviewing TSU’s finances, a report by the Office of Legislative Budget Analysis found that the state may have underfunded the historically Black university by hundreds of millions of dollars in land-grant funding.
Lawmakers last year passed a proposal from Gov. Bill Lee to invest $250 million in the university to improve physical infrastructure.
On Martin Luther King Jr. Day Monday, TSU announced plans for the historic investment package with major renovations to academic and student services buildings.
Officials said the much-needed funds are designated only for capital improvement projects as outlined by the state and will go toward long overdue repairs and upgrades.
Craig Shoup contributed to this report.
Reach reporter Kelly Puente at kpuente@tennessean.com or reach her on Twitter at @KellyPuenteTN.
Former Tennessee State official says financial reports were changed – Tennessean
