Audit of IAA reveals $1,500 in fund misuse

Money used for taxi rides, hotel stays and car rentals The International Affairs Association spent $1,500 inappropriately during the 1994-95 school year, the Undergraduate Assembly Budget Committee has concluded. Audit findings obtained by The Daily Pennsylvanian reveal that the IAA used money from the Student Activities Council for expenses such as taxi rides, extra hotel rooms and car rentals. Members of the IAA did not respond to multiple calls placed to their homes last night. The UA Budget Committee has isolated seven instances of IAA fund misuse over the last fiscal year, according to UA Treasurer and College sophomore Steve Schorr. In the most blatant example of inappropriate spending, the Budget Committee is charging that the IAA rented more hotel rooms than necessary on several occasions when members travelled to attend conferences. In some cases, the rooms were in luxurious hotels. The committee also charges that the group ran up $300 in rental car and taxi bills at their conference in the midwest in April. According to Schorr, SAC only pays for transportation related to conferences. He said the Budget Committee discovered that there was no need for the IAA to spend money on transportation because the conference took place in the hotel which was located in the airport. Financial Administrator of Student Activities Lynn Moller said SAC has not yet paid for these expenses. SAC Finance is in the process of reviewing the budget of all SAC financed organizations -- as they do every fall. Part of this review includes investigating expenses that are not covered by SAC, Moller said. The misused expenditures will be subtracted from the group's profits. The IAA has an estimated $80,000 profit. Similar charges allege that the IAA used $70 for taxis at its Georgetown University conference last October, of which they are expecting SAC to cover half. That conference was also held in the hotel in which IAA members were staying. The UA Budget Committee also found that the IAA used more than $100 allocated for office supplies toward their phone bill instead. Schorr, who is a DP sports writer, said SAC expects groups to use the money for the purpose for which it is allocated. As a result of the audit findings, UA Chairperson and College senior Lance Rogers said he hopes IAA members reconsider who their leaders are. "If they stole $1,500 in one year, how much have they stolen in total?" he asked. "Students have a right to know about this -- it's their money." Rogers added that the audit result proves that the IAA had a lot to hide. IAA leaders claimed the UA had ulterior motives in its decision to audit the group. The two organizations have debated the constitutionality of the audit since the UA Budget Committee announced that it would investigate the IAA's budget earlier this month. According to the UA constitution, the committee is entitled to audit its constituent parts. And last night, the SAC Steering Committee said in a statement that the UA broke its promise to the committee and the IAA by releasing the audit to the public. "This breach of this agreement violates the integrity of the UA audit as well as the agreement made by Lance Rogers to both SAC Steering and the IAA board," members said in a statement. The results will now be presented to SAC Finance, which will decide what action to take, if any. Possible consequences for wrongdoing range from freezing funds to revoking recognition.