Published: March 27, 2007 11:02 am      

Private firm wins audit of Floyd Memorial Hospital

The Louisville office of BKD LLP is beginning a financial audit of Floyd Memorial Hospital and Health Services after its selection by the hospital’s board of trustees, the board’s chairman said Monday.

“We hope to have the audit by the end of May,” Jerrol Z. Miles told The Tribune.

The board received bids from several accounting firms after deciding to discontinue its long-standing practice of annual State Board of Accounts audits.

Miles declined to reveal the cost of the audit, saying only that BKD “met our budget requirements.”

Chris Roszman — a BKD partner who will lead the hospital’s audit — said three to four accountants will work at the hospital for up to four weeks, beginning April 9.

“When we’re there, we’re typically there all day long,” Roszman said.

The employees focus exclusively on health-care accounting and at minimum have audited roughly 20 hospitals each, Roszman estimated.

“Their scope is to look at the entire financials,” Miles said.

Asked whether he expected the scope to be broader than a state audit, Miles replied, “It depends on their look at the books and records. They do certain testing.”

Next month, the hospital expects to interview replacements for Ralph Mercuri, the chief financial officer who resigned Jan. 1. Interim Chief Financial Officer Elaine Hayes, the hospital’s director of finance, is not a candidate, Miles said.