STA, 24 September 2019 - University of Maribor Chancellor Zdravko Kačič has come out strongly against a recent media report questioning some EUR 50 million in payments to its professors through works contracts. He said on Tuesday that Friday's TV Slovenija report was based on incomplete facts, but did affect the reputation of the country's No. 2 public university.
According to the broadcaster, auditor Ernst & Young found rather high payments to university professors and the university and its faculties' deals with companies suspicious in March 2017.
Some professors received almost EUR 30 million in various fees and another EUR 20 million was paid to university staff who were treated as external staff, TV Slovenija said.
Kačič told the university's senate the media report was based on two reports commissioned by the former chancellor with Ernst & Young - Consulting, Tax Consulting, and not with an auditor. The first was made in 2017 and the other in February 2018.
"Neither found any irregularities in the university's financial operations, but merely pointed to potential risks," said Kačič, who was in charge of the university's finances under the previous leadership.
When he became chancellor in June 2018, Kačič was not acquainted by predecessor Igor Tičar with the first report, but he did receive the second one.
After presenting it to the deans and demanding explanation from faculties, he handed all the papers to "a neutral institution to comprehensively review it and prepare a final report, which will serve for further action", he explained.
Earlier this year, the chancellor said the Institute for Business Accounting had been asked to give its final opinion. Its findings should be known next month.
"If qualified experts find irregularities ..., university institutions will take action," the chancellor's office said in a release after the senate's session.
Kačič said the idea was to present the second report to the public once it became final and contained proper findings and recommendations for further action.
As for the sum of EUR 50 million, Kačič said it referred to the works contracts for the entire period between 2010 and 2016.
"There are many such contracts. For instance, the professors teaching at the Faculty of Medicine are originally employed at the UKC Maribor hospital," he said in reference to the media report that some university staff had been treated as external staff (outsourcing) in receiving payment for their services.
Works contracts are also used for work on different projects, including for university-business ones.
"The payments on the basis of works contracts for University of Maribor staff for 2011 to 2016 amounted to EUR 21.2 million, not EUR 50 million," Kačič's office said.
"We don't want to sweep anything under the carpet, but it is inappropriate to jump to conclusions on the basis of incomplete facts," the chancellor said.
