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Appointments in Audit and Compliance
Rick N. Whitfield, Vice President for Audit and Compliance, said in announcing key leadership appointments made in his area over the past several months that they are part of "the progress toward accomplishing strategic goals for restructuring.
"Penn's business environment has changed significantly, and change will continue," he said. "The Agenda for Excellence recognized the need to upgrade internal controls, risk management and compliance functions to minimize Penn's financial, operational, regulatory and reputation-al risks. The success of any organization is dependent on having excellent people who understand changing business environments, seek to continuously improve processes and approach change in a proactive manner. I have been successful in recruiting these outstanding leaders to join Penn's expanded management team."
Salim M. Alani, Director of Audit
Mr. Alani joined the Office of Audit and Compliance in September as the Director of Audit/University, responsible for the management and oversight of "all audit-related matters for the University." With 19 years' experience in higher education and public accounting, he comes to Penn from Tufts University, where he had been director of internal audit since 1985. There he was responsible for formalizing the internal audit function and directing all internal audit activities. He was instrumental in preparing, with Tufts' external auditors, an integrated audit work plan approach that was the first of its kind in higher education. He also served on numerous task forces, search committees and business process re-engineering projects. Earlier he was at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and at Arthur Andersen & Company.
Mr. Alani received his B. S. in Business Administration from Northeastern University and is a Certified Internal Auditor, Certified Information Systems Auditor and Certified Fraud Examiner. He currently serves on the Grants and Review Board of His Highness Prince Aga Khan Shia Imami Ismaili, U.S.A.
He is also a member of the Association of College and University Auditors, Institute of Internal Auditors, Information Systems Audit and Control Association, Association of Fraud Examiners, and past president of the New England Chapter of Information Systems Audit and Control Association.
Mary Lee Brown, Director of Audit Information Systems
Ms. Brown joined the Office of Audit and Compliance in March after 18 years with Johns Hopkins University. She served there in several leadership roles, including director of accounting services in the Controller's Office, and assistant director and EDP audit manager in the Office of Audits and Management Services. Ms. Brown directed a large operational staff while also leading or participating in diverse short- and long-range projects to bring about major improvements and efficiencies to the overall financial processes and systems.
As director of accounting services, she was responsible for the day-to-day management of a $2.85 million annual budget and five operational units. Utilizing her understanding of management information systems and business processes and procedures, she co-developed a plan and effectively co-led a team to complete a three-year financial system implementation.
Ms. Brown received her B.A. in Accounting from Loyola College in Baltimore, Maryland. She is a member of the Association of College and University Auditors, Institute of Internal Auditors, and the Information Systems Audit and Control Association. She is a Certified Internal Auditor.
Craig A. Failing, Director of Audit, Health System
Mr. Failing joined the Office of Audit and Compliance in June after 14 years' experience in both a "Big Six" professional services firm and private industry. He has expertise in health-care, manufacturing and biotech industries, and experience in audit, internal controls, mergers and acquisitions, SEC filings, project management, consulting and managed care.
The former senior manager for Coopers & Lybrand, L.L.P., Philadelphia, was interim chief financial officer for the University of Pennsylvania Institute for Human Gene Therapy in 1996-97. His other responsibilities at Coopers & Ly-brand included management of consulting and other professional services, audits and relationships for local, domestic and international clients. Earlier in his career held various posts at Playtex International.
Mr. Failing received his B.S./Accounting in 1983 from West Chester University, and his M.B.A. in 1986 from Wilmington College.
Odell Guyton, Corporate Compliance
Odell Guyton, Esq., was named Corporate Compliance Officer of the University of Pennsylvania on December 15, coming to Penn from the Philadelphia firm of Miller, Alfano & Raspanti, P.C., where he had been counsel since 1993.
A 1977 alumnus of Moravian College, Mr. Guyton received his J. D. from American Uni-versity's Washington College of Law in 1981, and embarked on a 16-year career of complex litigation and investigative experience in "white collar" criminal defense, fraud and abuse, tax, money laundering, RICO, and qui tam litigation. In addition, he has acquired extensive experience in the areas of corporate compliance, corporate internal investigations, legal audit, federal and state grand jury representation and the sentencing guidelines.
Prior to entering the private practice of law, he served as an Assistant U. S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania from 1988 until 1993. During the latter part of 1993, Odell concluded his career as a federal prosecutor by serving as a Special Assistant U. S. Attorney. In July 1992, he received the prestigious Director's Award for Superior Performance as an Assistant United States Attorney at a national ceremony in Washington, D.C. Among his other honors, he was named to the Who's Who of Emerging Leaders in America --1989-1990, the Who's Who in American Law --1987, and the Outstanding Young Men of America --1981.
Earlier in his career, he served as a prosecutor for the Philadelphia District Attorney's Office, 1981-1988, using the state grand jury to investigate organized crime and corruption. He served with distinction at the Philadelphia District Attorney's Office, and has held various supervisory positions including that of Deputy District Attorney (the third highest rank in the office).
Mr. Guyton has appeared as a legal commentator on national and local television programs. He is on the board of Northwest Victim Services in Philadelphia and is on the executive committee of the Board of Trustees of Moravian College. He is a member of the Pennsylvania Bar, the United States District Court, the Bar of the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, the Criminal Justice Act Selection Committee, the Philadelphia Bar Association and the American Bar Association.
Return to:Almanac, University of Pennsylvania, January 13, 1998, Volume 44, Number 17