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After being charged in June with embezzling $40 million, William Smith, the former CFO of the nonprofit organization Detroit Riverfront Conservancy is facing decades in prison for felony embezzlement. The organization's financial control failures and conflicts of interest have come to light in court proceedings as reported by the Detroit Free Press.

According to Joan Harrington, former assistant director, social sector ethics and Ethics Center fellow, the advisory firm George Johnson and Co. had been the Conservancy’s independent auditor for more than a decade where the industry standard is to switch auditing firms every three to five years.

Ethics Center Fellow, Joan Harrington, quoted by CFO Magazine.