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<DIV><FONT face="Verdana Ref" size=4>Tom,</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Verdana Ref" size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Verdana Ref" size=4>Thank you for posting this timely
editorial. However, the editorial appeared to contain at least one serious
error. Below is a letter I sent to the <EM>Daily News</EM> concerning the
editorial.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Verdana Ref" size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Verdana Ref" size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Verdana Ref" size=4>
<DIV><FONT face="Verdana Ref" size=4>Murf,</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Verdana Ref" size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Verdana Ref" size=4>Thank you for your insightful editorial
yesterday on the Moscow Chamber of Commerce. It said part of what many of
us have long thought.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Verdana Ref" size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Verdana Ref" size=4>I think it likely that the editorial did
contain one quite misleading assertion:</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Verdana Ref" size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV>"The full audit didn't materialize but a review did. The review, by an
independent accounting firm, found nothing major enough to warrant a full
audit."</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Verdana Ref" size=4>Nowhere in the narrative of the review did
the author say that a full audit was not necessary or desirable. As far as
I know, the only people to make that assertion are Janice McMillan and Paul
Kimmell. I have seen nothing that indicates that Hayden & Ross said
that a full audit would not be desirable. Word in the street is that Jim
Pilcher is not happy with some of the public representations about the review
that McMillan and Kimmell have made, including the lack of the desirability
of an audit.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Verdana Ref" size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Verdana Ref" size=4><STRONG>In fact, a close reading of the
review indicates that very little was said about the chamber's financial health
or the quality of its financial management:</STRONG></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Verdana Ref" size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Verdana Ref" color=#ff0000>"All information included in these
[revised] financial statements is the representation of the management of the
Moscow Chamber of Commerce."</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Verdana Ref" size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Verdana Ref" size=4>This means that none of the basic financial
data used to construct the revised chamber financials was not closely examined
for accuracy or validity. The chamber's basic numbers were accepted
basically without verification.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Verdana Ref" size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Verdana Ref" size=4>Further, the review carefully
says:</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Verdana Ref" size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Verdana Ref">"Based on our review, we are not aware of any
material modifications that should be made to the accompanying financial
statements in order for them to be in conformity with accounting principles
generally accepted in the United States of America."</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Verdana Ref" size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Verdana Ref" size=4>Combining the two statements, we are left
with the slim conclusion <STRONG><U><EM><FONT color=#ff0000>that if the data is
correct</FONT></EM></U></STRONG>, then the format of the <STRONG><EM><U><FONT
color=#ff0000>revised</FONT></U></EM></STRONG> chamber Balance Sheet and
Income/Activity Statements and calculations within that format are within
the bounds of "generally accepted accounting practice." [Major
news reports of the last few years which have exposed the possible
fraudulence that can be contained under "generally accepted accounting
practice" certainly do not make such a statement very
reassuring.]</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Verdana Ref" size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Verdana Ref" size=4>Unfortunately, the review gave scant or no
explanations for the many changes that were made.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Verdana Ref" size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Verdana Ref" size=4><STRONG>Further, the review given out to
the public did not contain any revised chamber foundation financials, without
which a total assessment of the chamber financial health is not
possible</STRONG>.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Verdana Ref" size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Verdana Ref" size=4>Nor did the review address the problem of
why a $148K discrepancy occurred in the previously published financials, why net
income ($75K) from revised FYE 2003 results was subtracted from
retained earnings instead of added, and how and for what reason were the
FYE 2003 results revised. In fact, if a I read the explanationless review
numbers correctly, the revised FYE 2003 results (which show a huge $75K profit)
were not used.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Verdana Ref" size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Verdana Ref" size=4>Nor were any revised financials for the
years 2001 - 2003 presented. All of these previous financials had problems
and misrepresented the financial health of the chamber. Without these
revised financials, it is not possible to make a complete assessment of what has
occurred financially or management-wise over the last four years. [In
fairness to Hayden & Ross, I do not know if such revisions were part of the
initial review agreement; if not, they should have been.]</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Verdana Ref" size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Verdana Ref" size=4>I do not think the <EM>Daily News</EM> has
done a fair or in-depth reporting of this entire important matter. I
delivered long ago to Nathan documents showing the $148K discrepancy and
The $75K retained earnings problem and the implications of such.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Verdana Ref" size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Verdana Ref" size=4>A more comprehensive analysis of the
chambers financials is now underway by really independent persons. It is
fair to say at this point that the management of the chamber has exhibited
egregiously inept financial knowledge and management. There remains the
possibility that even more sinister problems lurk.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Verdana Ref" size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Verdana Ref" size=4>I hope that in the future the <EM>Daily
News</EM> will try to be more factually correct and balanced in their future
coverage of this matter. Such an action will eventually speed the recovery
of the chamber and help to eventually restore at least some of the confidence,
honor, and goodwill the chamber has lost.</FONT></DIV><FONT
face="Verdana Ref" size=4>
<DIV><BR>Wayne</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Wayne A. Fox<BR><A href="mailto:waf@moscow.com">waf@moscow.com</A><BR>PO
Box 9421<BR>Moscow, ID 83843<BR>208 882-7975</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV></FONT></DIV></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Verdana Ref" size=4>----- Original Message ----- </FONT>
<DIV><FONT face="Verdana Ref" size=4>From: "Tom" <</FONT><A
href="mailto:thansen@moscow.com"><FONT face="Verdana Ref"
size=4>thansen@moscow.com</FONT></A><FONT face="Verdana Ref"
size=4>></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Verdana Ref" size=4>To: <</FONT><A
href="mailto:vision2020@moscow.com"><FONT face="Verdana Ref"
size=4>vision2020@moscow.com</FONT></A><FONT face="Verdana Ref"
size=4>></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Verdana Ref" size=4>Sent: Thursday, October 28, 2004 11:21
AM</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Verdana Ref" size=4>Subject: [Vision2020] Chamber Squandered a
Public Opportunity </FONT></DIV></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Verdana Ref"><BR><FONT size=4></FONT></FONT></DIV><FONT
face="Verdana Ref" size=4>| >From yesterday's (October 27, 2004)
Moscow-Pullman Daily News.<BR>| <BR>|
----------------------------------------------------------<BR>| <BR>| The Moscow
Chamber of Commerce is under no obligation to share its books with <BR>| the
public. <BR>| Like any private business or organization, it is responsible to
its members and <BR>| no one else. For the public to demand otherwise could be
an exercise in <BR>| futility. <BR>| <BR>| That said, the chamber missed an
excellent opportunity to be as up front as <BR>| possible with the public and
its members regarding questions about the <BR>| chamber's finances. <BR>| <BR>|
At issue were concerns by some chamber members that the organization was in
<BR>| financial trouble. Those concerned asked questions but got no satisfactory
<BR>| answers. <BR>| <BR>| They then asked the same questions in the public
arena. <BR>| <BR>| At that point, the chamber should have taken the high road
and answered all <BR>| questions to the members' satisfaction. In so doing, the
public also could have <BR>| been informed. <BR>| <BR>| Instead, the chamber
chose to keep tight-lipped until the hue and cry got too <BR>| loud. <BR>| <BR>|
An audit and public review were then promised. <BR>| <BR>| The full audit didn't
materialize but a review did. The review, by an <BR>| independent accounting
firm, found nothing major enough to warrant a full <BR>| audit. <BR>| <BR>| "Can
we be more fiscally responsible," said Paul Kimmell, the chamber's <BR>|
executive director. "You bet." <BR>| <BR>| Part of that responsibility is
accountability to its members and, by extension, <BR>| the public. <BR>| <BR>|
The chamber is not a public organization in a legal sense, but many of its <BR>|
functions serve the public good. <BR>| <BR>| Typically, a chamber of commerce is
the first contact a business or family has <BR>| with an area when they consider
relocating. <BR>| <BR>| Chambers in many cities and towns also serve as
visitors' bureaus, encouraging <BR>| tourism and that means money spent in area
businesses. <BR>| <BR>| Moscow's chamber is no different. It represents more
than 450 business, <BR>| organization and individual members. They all have a
right to know if their <BR>| dues are used wisely in the promotion of the
businesses and the area. <BR>| <BR>| The chamber must remember openness breeds
trust and goodwill. <BR>| <BR>| Right now, those are commodities the chamber
sure could use. <BR>| <BR>| <BR>| <BR>| <BR>|
<BR>| <BR>| <BR>| <BR>|
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