The Pensacola Museum of Art has completed the financial review of its accounting procedures and controls related to questions in early June regarding financial management by Executive Director Sonya Davis. The firm of Smith, Dukes and Buckalew from Mobile and Daphne were chosen by the Board of Trustees as an independent firm to perform the review. There were seven firms that submitted proposals to the Board.
In its report sent to the president of the Board Lori Storey at the end of last week, it was concluded that there was no evidence of wrongdoing by any staff member or any member of the Board of Trustees. In noting there was no wrongdoing, the reviewer made suggestions related to procedures and policies which might guard against potential future incorrect or inappropriate uses of money. The Board along with Ms. Davis and contracted accounting staff has begun implementation of those precautionary procedures and policies as suggested.
Ms. Storey said “We are glad to put this behind us. As the only nationally accredited museum between Mobile and Tallahassee, the PMA is an extremely important part of our cultural community. Since Ms. Davis’s arrival three years ago, the Museum has stemmed operating losses, increased the Museum’s endowment, and broken ground in new audience development, attracting both traditional and non-traditional visitors. Under her leadership, expanded art education initiatives including our popular summer camps and lecture series have added a broader base of constituents. We look forward to getting back to focusing on the good work we do.â€