Counting KPCC’s Money

Regarding “KPCC-FM Staff Criticizes the Handling of Accounting Error” (Sept. 29) and the missing $100,000, General Manager Rod Foster’s comment that “it’s not extraordinary at all to have some stuff just not get counted on the expenditure side, especially on informal books” is an amazing statement!

It’s extraordinary that KPCC would have such a manager. There is no such thing as “informal books.” And Foster and Pasadena City College President Jack Scott’s conclusion that they did not know how the bookkeeping error occurred is another out-of-space response.

I wonder how many other “informal books” are maintained at the college.

As the controller of a large Southern California nonprofit corporation, if I or my staff “lost” $100,000, believe me, within 24 hours we would know where it was and what happened.

Both the president of Pasadena City College and the manager of KPCC have a legal responsibility to account for every cent that they are responsible for, and “informal books” are not acceptable.

The apparent performance of these two is not acceptable either.

ROBERT BRANDON

Los Angeles

Brandon is associate executive director of finance for the nonprofit YWCA of Greater Los Angeles.