Audit rebukes Autism Society

Bad money management at the Autism Society of North Carolina led to the resignation of its executive director and to a rebuke from state Auditor Les Merritt in an audit released this morning.

The state Autism Society, a non-profit organization that works with individuals, families and state agencies, had a financial crisis last summer after running deficits for years.

The society’s executive director at the time, Jill Hinton Keel, and its finance director, who was later fired, sold society assets without the board of directors’ knowledge so the organization could pay employees, according to the audit.

In 2007, the Autism Society lost $1.5 million.

The society received about $10 million in government money last year, including a $3 million state appropriation and nearly $7 million for providing services to clients.

The society’s board knew about its shaky finances, but did not take the situation seriously, the audit says.

In addition, the society was loose with its credit cards, the audit says, and the financial director should not have spent $2,674 on employee parties and staff appreciation lunches.

F. Whitney Jones, the board president, said the organization is paying more attention to its finances and has put more controls over credit card use.