The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America has announced new steps to clean up the way it safeguards the money it collects from faithful throughout the nation, in light of a multi-million dollar deficit and numerous improprieties, including the misuse of funds from various accounts to cover operating expenses.
The Archdiocese announced in a press release that “As a key part of the ongoing Archdiocesan effort to improve financial and internal controls, and in keeping with his commitment to proper governance and transparency, Archbishop Demetrios of America has announced the appointment of a new group of financial and legal professionals to serve as members of the Archdiocesan Council’s Standing Audit Committee.”
The press release emphasizes the Archbishop’s direct involvement and announcement, hoping to stave off growing national criticism about his own role in the years leading up to the revelations of the massive deficits and misappropriated funds.
Numerous individuals representing various Metropolises throughout the nation have been appointed to the audit committee and will implement new policies and procedures, according to the press release. Two individuals were also appointed to an “advisory” committee, separate from the audit committee, whose role will be to oversee the work being done.
The individuals are direct appointees of the Archbishop and all have expertise in various fields of auditing and financial services. All of the members of the new committee are members of the Archdiocese Council, which has raised some concerns.
The appointment of individuals from within the membership of the Archdiocesan Council directly contradicts the standards in place by the Archdiocese itself that it imposes on parishes. According to Archdiocese regulations, parish councils must appoint an audit committee from the general membership of the parish and not from within the parish council, itself.
Such distance between the audit committee and the “board” that governs the finances of the institution prevents potential conflicts of interest during audits.
One of the individuals appointed to the advisory committee, Jim Logothetis, a CPA and Senior Client Handling Partner at Ernst & Young.
His appointment has raised eyebrows in Chicago where he was involved is currently embroiled in a number of lawsuits against bankruptcies between Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church, where he once served as parish council president, while at the same time serving as president of the Hellenic American Academy, a local school. The two entities were onetime partners, both under Logothetis’ simultaneous leadership, during which financial agreements were signed by Logothetis, representing both entities. This has raised issues of possible conflict of interest, according to numerous individuals who contacted The Pappas Post, but asked to remain anonymous because of their positions in either the school, church, Metropolis and/or the Archdiocese. [see editor’s note below]
The responsibilities of the Audit Committee will include assessing the reliability and accuracy of financial reporting; selecting external auditors; meeting with those auditors to review audit plans and results; reviewing internal controls and developing any necessary remediation plans; and monitoring compliance with applicable laws and regulations pertaining to financial controls.
The press release makes no mention of investigating and accounting for a deficit that has been reported to be more than $12 million and the misuse of various funds, as well as a major discrepancy that was reported in The Pappas Post last month when the Archdiocese announced that a “forensic audit was under way, while the Treasurer of the Archdiocese, Mr. Michael Psaros, told the finance committee of the Archdiocese Council that no such audit would take place.
*****
Editor’s note:
The article “Archdiocese of America Takes Steps to Clean Up Financial Mess; Questions Still Remain About Deficits; Misappropriations,” contained several statements relating to Jim Logothetis. I would like to make the following clear:
Our decision to include these statements emanated from several messages we received from individuals involved in or privy to the relationship between Holy Trinity Church and the Hellenic American Academy in Chicago.
The said individuals, all of whom have asked to remain anonymous for various reasons, expressed their concerns about the contentious relationship that had developed between the two entities and shared court documents relating to bankruptcy filings between the church and the school, during which Mr. Logothetis was president of both entities.
These factors led these individuals to express their concerns about Mr. Logothetis’ ability to serve the National Church in the capacity that was noted and ultimately led to our decision to publish what we did.
We implied that there was litigation— and there was not. That was our mistake and we should have been more diligent to differentiate between law suits and bankruptcy filings. The said documents that we misinterpreted as law suits were in fact bankruptcies between the two entities are here, here, here and here.
We regret the discrepancy and reiterate that, according to a statement by his attorney, Mr. Logothetis was authorized, with the full knowledge and consent of the parish assembly of Holy Trinity and the Academy, to sign the documents (all of which were reviewed by legal counsel) as president of the parish council and chairman of the Academy’s board of trustees. Any suggestion that Mr. Logothetis is involved in litigation or his actions resulted in litigation against Holy Trinity are inaccurate and are retracted.
Furthermore, upon receipt of the numerous concerns from the said individuals expressing their concern about Mr. Logothetis’ service to the Church, we should have reached out to Mr. Logothetis and/or those responsible for his appointment to the Archdiocesan audit committee for a response. We did not do this, and we should have.
*****
Since you’re here… I have a small favor to ask.
More and more people than ever before are reading The Pappas Post and despite increasing costs to maintain the site and provide you with the quality content that you deserve, I will never “force” you to pay for our website or add a paywall.
I believe in the democracy of the internet and want to keep this site and its enriching content free for everyone.
But at the same time I’m asking those who frequent the site to chip in and help keep it both high quality— and free.
We’ve implemented a “free-will” annual subscription for those who want to support our efforts. I guess it’s fair to call it a philotimo subscription… because you don’t have to do it but it’s really the right thing to do if you love the site and the content we publish.
So if you like The Pappas Post and want to help, please consider becoming a “philotimo subscriber”.Click here to subscribe.
If you’d rather make a one time donation, we will gladly accept any amount, with appreciation. Click here to donate any amount.
