DANKS & DANKS
Attorneys at Law
1010 Sycamore Street
Evansville, IN 47708
February 11, 2013
I have been asked to give an opinion on the “legality and propriety” of the
Council using David Garrett’s services.
I have done so and find that Garrett’s services are NOT in contravention of
Federal, State or Local laws and the State Board of Accountancy’s
regulations.
In addition to my own research, I telephoned the Board of Accountancy’s
Compliance Officer, Brian Cusimano, who was quoted in the Courier & Press.
I explained to him the services being provided by Mr. Garrett and read to
him, verbatim, the Descriptions of Services provided in Mr. Garrett’s
Contract.
Mr. Cusimano stated that Garrett “absolutely did not” need to be a Certified
Public Accountant to perform the services and that his services were in no
way improper.
Moreover, Garrett’s Contract provides that “Garrett agrees to be bound by
all State and Federal laws and standards applicable to Certified Public
Accounts.regardless of the status of Garrett’s past or present Certified
Public Account License.” Thus, it is acknowledged in Garrett’s Contract
with the Council that he does not have to have a current CPA Certification.
Additionally, I find no improprieties relating to Garrett’s services.
Mr. Garrett graduated from college in 1980 with Honors. In 1985 he passed
his CPA exams and was Certified. He also became a CMA and TMP.
Because Mr. Garrett never served as a Public Accountant, he did not feel it
necessary to maintain his Certification and allowed them to expire in 1997.
AT NO TIME WERE GARETT’S CERTIFICATIONS REVOKED OR SUSPENDED
OR SUBJECT TO ANY OTHER DISCIPLINARY ACTION.
It should have been no surprise to anyone on the Council that Garrett did
not hold a current CPA Certification.
Mr. Garrett’s resume was submitted to the Council. In addition to providing
his employment and educational history, his resume reflects that he held the
“prior certifications”: CPA, CMA, PMP. His resume DOES NOT reflect any
current certifications.
Garrett has never referred to himself as a CPA in writing or otherwise nor
does CPA ever appear after his name in written communications.
The only reference to Garrett being a CPA is when Councilman Friend was
discussing his qualifications and, among many other things, stated that he
was a CPA. Councilman Friend inadvertently left out the word “was.” This
is the only time that anybody made referenced to Garrett’s Certification
status and there is absolutely no evidence of any attempts to mislead the
Council.
In speaking with Mr. Cusimano I learned that a “formal complaint” has not
been filed. Apparently, he was acting on a telephonic report of some type
of impropriety on Garrett’s part. He informed me that any investigation was
not even in the preliminary stage. After explaining all of the above to Mr.
Cusimano and the nature of Councilman Friend’s statement, he indicated that
he had not been provided with all the facts and indicated that he did not
feel that a violation had occurred.
It should also be noted that any complaints to the State Board of
Accountancy are to remain confidential until such time as wrong doing is
found pursuant to State statute. This Statute seems to have been violated
in Garrett’s case.
I believe that the State Board of Accountancy and the Evansville Courier &
Press have been duped by someone with malicious intent toward Mr. Garrett.
Mr. Garrett provides an invaluable service to the Council as well as to
myself as the Attorney for the Council. I have found him to be a brilliant
analyst and has been of a great assistance to me. Moreover, Garrett has
literally devoted several hundreds of hours of his time on behalf of the
Council that is above and beyond what is required by his contract without
compensation for these services.
I truly believe that the complaint to the Board of Accountancy and the
reporting to the Courier & Press was a malicious attempt to bully and
intimidate Mr. Garrett. I would sincerely hope that the Council would give
Mr. Garrett a unanimous vote of confidence at tonight’s meeting.
Scott A. Danks, Attorney at Law
for the Common Council of the City of Evansville
Footnote: This article was posted without editing, opinion or bias.