When one studies accounting and auditing, one learns a lot of theoretical information about counting inventory. Personally, I had already managed a business (a restaurant) for a few years and had also earned extra money moonlighting with an inventory service before I enrolled at the University of Tennessee in the fall of 1998. None of that remotely prepared me for a BIG investigation that my office conducted during the fall of 2003.

The investigative audit report for this audit is available here.

The main legal-issues were well summarized in Director Dennis Dycus’s letter to the then-comptroller, John Morgan, which is an integral part of the report.

Our investigative audit revealed that 116.6 kilograms of cocaine, with a street value estimated at $2,332,408, and 559.8 pounds of marijuana, with a street value estimated at $447,876, could not be accounted for. Auditors were unable to locate or account for certain cash items totaling $147,218.26, and were unable to account for at least 66 firearms.

Yes, this was unlike any inventory assignment I had seen before!