Accounting firm backs Republicans and verifies vote count
A Memphis accounting firm backs Republicans in elections. And it also has a contract with the local election commission to verify the official vote counts.
For instance, William H. “Trey” Watkins III, a member of the accounting firm Watkins Uiberall PLCC and son of one of its founders, acted this year as campaign treasurer for state Sen. Brian Kelsey.
Kelsey defeated Democratic challenger Gabby Salinas by 1,520 votes during the Nov. 6 election, according to unofficial results.
Now, Watkins Uiberall is involved in the process of working with the Shelby County Election Commission to verify the final vote count in the Salinas-Kelsey race, along with the numerous other races on the ballot this fall.
Auditors are supposed to be neutral watchdogs, and federal standards for auditors require them to avoid any appearance of conflict of interest.
Leaders of Watkins Uiberall said the election commission work isn’t an audit, but rather “an agreed upon procedures engagement.”
They also said the Election Commission work complies with the ethical standards of the accounting profession and that they don’t directly handle ballots.
They said another accounting company works with them in a joint venture. One of that company’s leaders has supported Democratic campaigns.
Firm writes a report on vote count
The Election Commission is scheduled to certify the results of the Nov. 6 election at a meeting 4 p.m. Monday.
Election Commission spokeswoman Suzanne Thompson explained Watkins Uiberall’s role. “Basically, they prepare a report the commissioners use for certification,” she wrote in an email.
“The report lists the totals of early
voting, absentee, election day, and provisional votes cast broken down by candidate. It also shows the percentile of the votes each candidate received in those same categories.”
Election administrator Linda Phillips clarified further:
“Most of the audit-like activity is conducted by my staff,” she said. “We look to see how many people signed in. We look to see how many people voted, that kind of thing.
“They’re going to certify the official statement of votes cast. They use the Watkins report as a tool to assist them.”
She said the work the firm does isn’t really an audit — that’s a point emphasized by the company.
Company says it’s not doing audits
Auditors are supposed to be independent and neutral watchdogs of money or in this case, votes. Government auditing standards published by the United States Government Accountability Office spell it out:
“Auditors and audit organizations should avoid situations that could lead reasonable and informed third parties to conclude that the auditors and audit organizations are not independent,” the guidelines read in part.
In a phone call Wednesday, leaders with Watkins Uiberall PLLC said the work the firm does for the election commission isn’t an audit, but rather “an agreed upon procedures engagement.”
“Basically the election commission engages us to come back behind what they’ve done in their tabulation and look at their processes,” said the firm’s chief manager, Jeff Thomason.
“And we assist in the pre-election and post-election procedures. But we’re really observing and watching what they’re doing to...
“Make sure they’re not misstepping in their policies and procedures,” Trey Watkins added.
Thomason continued. “We don’t count the votes, we don’t tabulate the votes. We don’t have any access to the votes.
“We observe what the election commission employees do and follow up and see that their tabulation comes up to the same number, based on their supporting documentation. But we don’t certify the results and we don’t offer an opinion on the results.”
They also said that they’re independent according to the standards of their professional association, the American Institute of CPAs. They said that’s because they aren’t connected with the five members of the Shelby County Election Commission or the election commission’s staff.
“We don’t have a treasurer function for anybody in local government that would impair our independence,” Thomason said.
Trey Watkins, who acted as campaign treasurer for Kelsey, says he doesn’t do the election commission work. “I am not involved in that engagement at all. That’s another partner in our firm that handles that,” he said, referring to firm member Daniel Moore.
“I don’t review it. I don’t touch it, I don’t go out to the election commission. I don’t have any part of it.”
In a 2012 interview, his father, firm co-founder William H. “Bill” Watkins Jr., had also said he didn’t personally handle the election commission contract.
He had also pointed to an opinion from the American Institute of CPAs that says an accountant who serves as campaign treasurer for a winning mayoral candidate could still be considered independent of the mayor’s political party or the municipality, though not the campaign itself.
The elder Watkins’ name and profile are still listed on the accounting company’s website. However, his son said his father is now retired from the accounting company.
Campaign donations
Bill Watkins and Trey Watkins also donated this year to Republican candidates including Randy Boyd, who lost a race for governor, as well as to Bill Lee, who eventually won the gubernatorial race, according to records.
The Watkins also donated to Memphis-area state Rep. Mark White, to Nashville-area state Rep. Jerome Moon, as well as to Scott McCormick, who unsuccessfully challenged for a state legislative seat.
One $500 donation to White was made in the name of the accounting company, according to records.
The donations ranged from $150 for McCormick to $4,000 for Lee from the elder Watkins and his wife, according to campaign finance records.
History of the contract
The elder Watkins is a former chairman of the Shelby County Republican Party, but has also worked with Democrats such as former Memphis Mayor Willie Herenton.
He’s acted as campaign treasurer for candidates including former Gov. Don Sundquist, former Sheriff Bill Oldham and former county prosecutor Bill Gibbons during a bid for governor.
This year, the elder Watkins acted as campaign treasurer for candidates including U.S. Rep. David Kustoff, R-Germantown, state Rep. Mark White, and Rep. Jim Coley, R-Bartlett, according to campaign finance reports.
In 2012, company leaders said the firm has had contracts to work for the election commission since at least the early 1990s. The amount of the contract was $49,000 per year at that time — the current amount of the contract wasn’t readily available during the Thanksgiving holiday week.
Company works in a joint venture
Staffers said the firm still does the election commission work in a joint venture with Banks, Finley, White & Co., an African-American-owned accounting firm with offices in Atlanta, Birmingham and Memphis.
Efforts to reach a principal with the company weren’t successful Wednesday, but in an interview for the 2012 article, Stan Sawyer, one of the company’s Memphis-area leaders, said he is a Democrat.
He’s worked as a campaign treasurer for candidates including including Joe Ford in a 2010 race for county mayor.
The Commercial Appeal couldn’t find any record of Sawyer working as a campaign treasurer this year.
In the current election cycle, Sawyer gave $1,000 to a political action committee called Shelby County Democrats for Change, according to campaign finance records.
Questions about the contract
Election administrator Linda Phillips said several months ago, she recommended the five-member election commission not use an auditing firm.
“Because frankly they’re not doing anything that my staff shouldn’t be doing,” she said. She said the commission wanted to keep the arrangement in place.
The Commercial Appeal contacted commission chairman Robert Meyers, who referred questions to the commission’s spokesperson.
Reach reporter Daniel Connolly at 529-5296, daniel.connolly@commercial appeal.com, or on Twitter at @danielconnolly.