Viewing page 4 of 158

This transcription has been completed. Contact us with corrections.

-ii-

Having served as the search committee for a citizen Regent to fill the chair vacated by Mr. Burden's death, the Executive Committee met in executive session and discussed the full slate of 59 qualified nominees suggested by the Regents, staff, and Congressional committee chairmen. With the concurrence of the Chancellor, the Committee unanimously recommended for the Regents' consideration Mr. Barnabas McHenry of New York. If for any reason Mr. McHenry could not serve, the Committee would next recommend Mr. James M. Kemper, Jr. of Missouri for the Regents' consideration.  Accordingly, after discussion the following motion was approved by the Board of Regents:

VOTED that the Board of Regents requests the Congressional Regents to introduce and support legislation to appoint Barnabas McHenry as a citizen Regent of the Smithsonian Institution for the statutory term of six years. 

[[underlined]] Report of the Audit and Review Committee [[/underlined]]

The Audit and Review Committee met on November 20, 1984. Mr. Jameson reported on the staff's major review of internal controls initiated in 1982 in response to the Federal Managers' Financial Integrity Act (Public Law 97-255).  The purpose of the review was to discover and correct any weaknesses in controls which could lead to waste, loss, unauthorized use, or misappropriation of the Institution's assets.  After managers' self-assessments and reviews by an Internal Control Steering Committee and the Institution's Management Committee, the Office of Audits and the Management Analysis Office identified some 60 areas of weakness and made recommendations for improvements.  Noting that it may take up to two years to implement all corrective actions, Mr. Jameson expressed pleasure with progress to date and added that the Institution enjoys an acceptable level of internal controls. The Committee noted that managers at all levels would be alert to their responsibilities for management controls.

Coopers and Lybrand said that they had made satisfactory progress and with the continued excellent cooperation of Smithsonian staff they should complete their audit well before the Committee's winter meeting.  They told the Committee that Smithsonian management had asked them to examine controls for the Institution's payroll system, anticipating possible conversion to the new IBM mainframe computer.

Mr. Chmelik gave a brief overview of the Smithsonian's Business Management Office, noting that while there appears to be some similarities between the museum shops, the mail order division, product licensing, and concessions, each of these activities serves a different market and requires a separate merchandising staff.  Mr. Greenberg discussed the growth of the museum shops and projected that the shops will experience continued growth.  He said that the extraordinary results in the last two years can be attributed largely to increased museum visitation, spectacular special exhibitions, and the adoption of a new computer system which monitors sales versus inventory.  Messrs. Chmelik and Greenberg also gave the Committee a tour of the new museum shop in the American History Building.