Audit, compliance chief Steve Jung to step down in October
Steve Jung
Rick Moyer
BY RAY DELGADO
You might not expect to hear the word "beloved" used to describe the man who leads the university's audit and compliance efforts, but those who work with Steve Jung feel a genuine sense of loss when discussing his pending retirement.
Jung, the executive director of Internal Audit and Institutional Compliance, is largely credited with having strengthened the university's auditing efforts after the controversy that arose in the early 1990s involving how Stanford calculated the indirect costs of federally sponsored research. Having worked as an associate auditing manager, interim director and director of the Internal Audit Department since he was first hired in 1986, the 63-year-old Jung plans to retire at the end of December to deal with health concerns and spend more time with his family.
Jung's successor will be Rick Moyer, executive director of Audit Services and the institute compliance officer at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). Moyer was hired recently after a search that began at the beginning of the year. He will start on Oct. 30, at which point Jung will step down from his post to focus on other projects until his retirement at the end of the year.
Jung was the interim director of the department in 1990 when Paul Biddle, a representative from the Office of Naval Research, accused the university of improper accounting practices regarding federal research funds. The university was ultimately vindicated after a lengthy congressional investigation, but the publicity stemming from the controversy partly resulted in the resignation of President Donald Kennedy.
Although many would have shuddered at the thought of working within the department at that time, Jung relished the opportunity to straighten out the university's auditing practices.
"I frankly feel that it was an ideal situation for any auditor," Jung said. "At that point, Stanford had been humbled in the press and in the Congress, and we knew that we were not immune just because we did good things and had a good reputation. As an auditor coming in, it was easy for me. The conditions were just right. I had everybody's cooperation. If we needed to make some changes, no problem."
Jung said he tried to create a system in which any ambiguities about audit policies were cleared up, and the office created programs to better educate faculty about compliance issues to avoid similar problems.
"We are an educational institution and teaching and research are our primary responsibilities," Jung said. "Audit and compliance are not at the top of that list. What I think my major contribution was to the institution was the ability to make feasible recommendations that were not disruptive to the primary mission of the university."
Jung also said that he was proud of the fact that he helped repair the university's relationships with government auditors so that they now trust the university to police itself. The fact that the university has not faced a major audit crisis since the indirect costs dispute is also worth noting, he said.
"The fact of the matter is that it's a very complex enterprise that we operate here," Jung said. "To be out of compliance and have weak controls happens very easily. There's almost no circumstance under which we can say we are perfect, so the challenge is constant vigilance."
Mariann Byerwalter, a current member of the Board of Trustees and the former chief financial officer at the university, said Jung was the right person for the job at the right time.
"Steve will be sorely missed," Byerwalter said. "His breadth and depth of knowledge of the university is remarkable, as well as his standards of excellence. He has been invaluable to the university."
Jung also has been an active leader in the national higher education audit arena, having established a number of "best practices" among universities' internal audit organizations, including the risk-assessment methodology used to determine areas for internal audit projects. In 2000, he was the recipient of the Annual Member Excellence Award from the Association of College and University Auditors.
Randy Livingston, vice president for business affairs and chief financial officer, praised Jung's ability to work well with leaders in various departments in the sometimes challenging arena of internal audits.
"Steve takes a very consultative approach to internal audit," Livingston said. "He is not out to get people in trouble, but rather advises them on how to improve operations and stay out of trouble. While Steve can be tough when he needs to be, his approach is disarming and seldom threatening."
Livingston said Jung will continue to work on various projects after Moyer's arrival, at which point he may continue to work part time or fully retire. Although Jung said he likes the idea of retiring so that he can take care of his health and spend more time with his wife of 28 years at their second home on Orcas Island in Washington, he expressed ambivalence about stepping down from a job he said he really enjoys.
"I'm sorriest to be giving up the leadership of my staff," Jung said. "I have taken a great deal of interest in the career development of my staff, and I'm kind of sorry to be turning it over to somebody else, although I believe Rick Moyer is a great developer of staff."