Suggested avenues of exploration . . .

Sincere congratulations are extended to our three newly elected board members coupled with hopefulness that with this new leadership, property owners will begin to find the honesty, openness and transparency so desperately needed in our community.

It is, however, important to remember that our problems did not evaporate with this new leadership.  Rather than beginning their tenure with a “clean slate”, (1) this board has been handed a very full plate of issues and unfinished business to be dealt with.

Anticipating that fresh eyes on the challenges before our community can and will be a very productive endeavor, it is suggested that the most pressing issues facing Big Canoe are the status of our employees and the Bobby Jones Links agreement along with the yet to be explained food and beverage losses.  It might also be suggested that a proper exercise in due diligence would be in order for BJL while a forensic audit of food and beverage and other interwoven amenities could prove enlightening.  In the spirit of transparency and with all due respect, this writer would like to publicly offer the following questions and/or suggested avenues of exploration.

Bobby Jones Links due diligence checklist . . .

Historical Background:  As noted by one of the BJL founders at the POA/BJL informational meeting, the company has been in business for approximately twenty years. (2)   Research of various news media finds that prior to 2019, Bobby Jones Links operated under the name of Mosaic Golf Clubs and Resorts.  Prior to 2013, Mosaic operated under the name of Affiniti Golf Partners.  (3) (4)

In fact, Affiniti under the leadership of current partners, Willy and Crouse, managed the food and beverage function of Big Canoe from April 2004 – Spring 2005 with both partners actively participating in BCPOA board meetings. (5) (6)  In July 2005, HMS Partners was contracted by the POA to manage that function.  (7)  Questions regarding the arrangement with BJL follow:  (Note:  Although several questions may have been asked previously, answers were either vague or inconclusive.)

• • How was the agreement priced or compared without inclusion of the employee detail?
  • Is the agreement final without the negotiation of employee benefit packages?  Can it be revoked if unable to reach a consensus?
  • Will the general manager be an employee of BJL?  If so, to whom will the general manager report?  Who will have final approval of the general manager candidate?
  • Will board approval be required prior to removal of any POA department heads?
  • Have client references been contacted?
  • Have financial statements of BJL and Mosaic been reviewed?  If so, by whom?
  • BCPOA policy 152.1 dictates that “contract services with a value of $50k or more require solicitation of competitive bids/RFPs from at least three qualified bidders.” (8)  Is documentation of that process available?
  • Does the agreement include a “money back guarantee” as publicized by BJL in various news media? (9)
  • Was the contract reviewed by legal counsel?
  • Did this decision require approval of the developer?  Was the developer in the loop?
  • Is there a Plan B?  In other words, will the POA still have the mechanisms in place to restore POA operations should the arrangement with BJL not work out?

Forensic Audit requested . . .

Secondly, it continues to be implausible that food and beverage alone could rack up $775k in losses.   Line item detail that was requested throughout 2019 was never provided.

As F&B losses seem to be the catalyst for the board’s decision to move POA operations to BJL, it should be ascertained through a forensic audit exactly what made up those losses, and in fact, whether all losses were actually F&B losses.  At a minimum, a complete forensic audit should be requested covering F&B along with the additional areas outlined below.

• • All transactions in the F&B and Golf categories in order to ascertain  propriety and correct classification of each transaction.
  • All transactions charged to building maintenance to determine if any costs of capital improvements have been inadvertently charged to that category.
  • December 2019 transactions to operating departments and amenity categories to account for the overall loss for the month as compared to previous months. (10) (11)
  • Lastly, all transactions payable to any legal counsel should be reviewed for propriety.

Be assured, these suggestions are not cast about haphazardly  . . .

If indeed, F&B losses were the motivation for the BJL decision, new leadership might be unable to measure their success without the benefit of a forensic audit.  Without all appropriate prior accounting detail, incentives might also be granted to BJL for non-existent improvements.

The cost of a forensic audit could be the best investment ever made by the Big Canoe POA and would go far to restore the trust of this community while truly establishing a “clean slate” for our new board of directors.  There are certainly enough red flags here to justify this request.  Leadership, you are implored, please schedule a forensic audit.  Thank you in advance for your thoughtful consideration of these ideas.

*****

Please feel free to share your comments on this site regarding these suggestions or contact me at thepcrosses@gmail.com for questions or further discussion.  Should you like to see additional articles posted in the future, please subscribe for an email notification.

Patricia Cross (10438 Big Canoe)

References:

1    Eblast, Q and A Session with the Board, February 24, 2020, FAQ #4

2   Board and Bobby Jones Links Q&A Video, February 27, 2020 (POAwebsite>POA>Meetings>Videos>Board and Bobby Jones Links)

3 http://www.golfincmagazine.com/content/mosaic-rebrands-again-time-bobby-jones-links

4 http://golfbusinessmag.com/article.aspx?id=2894&bq=6yfv%5Eg433$

5 POA Board of Directors Meeting, Minutes, July 21, 2004 (POAwebsite>login>POA>DocumentArchives>BoardOfDirectors>BoardMeetingMinutes>BoardMeetingMinutes2004>2004-07BoardMeetingMinutes)

6 Are We Outsourcing, Smoke Signals, April 2004 (available in PDF if requested) http://archives.bigcanoenews.com/2004_4/2004_04

7 POA Board of Directors Meeting, Minutes, June 2005 (POAwebsite>login>POA>DocumentArchives>BoardOfDirectors>BoardMeetingMinutes>BoardMeetingMinutes2005>2005-06BoardMeetingMinutes)

8 Big Canoe Board of Directors, Policies and Procedures, Procedure No. 152.1  (POAwebsite>login>POA>GoverningDocuments>BoardDocuments>BoardOfDirectorsPoliciesandProcedures>ProcedureNo.152.1)

9 http://www.golfbusiness.com/article.aspx?id=4068&bq=6yfv%5Eg433$

10 November 2019 Financial Package, pgs. 1 -7 (POAwebsite>login>POA>financials>SummaryOfOperations> November2019)

11 December 2019 Financial Package, pgs. 1 -7 (POAwebsite>login>POA>financials>SummaryOfOperations>December201