Weston Smith, Former HealthSouth CFO, to Speak at UNA March 8

Mar. 3, 2010

FLORENCE, Ala. – Weston Smith, former chief financial officer of HealthSouth and whistleblower behind the company $2.7 billion accounting fraud, will speak at his alma mater, the University of North Alabama, at 6 p.m. March 8 in Stevens Hall. The program is sponsored by the UNA Department of Accounting and Business Law, Accounting Scholars and Alpha Chi.

In his program, “Lessons Learned From HealthSouth: The Consequences of Ethical Malfeasance,” Smith will describe his role in the rise and fall of HealthSouth and, more specifically, what was going through his mind as the whistleblower behind the company’s $2.7 billion accounting fraud. He will also point out the red flags of ethical malfeasance and what professionals should do when faced with breakdowns in integrity. For his part in the HealthSouth debacle, Smith paid deeply, losing everything and spending 14 months in Maxwell Federal Prison Camp.

“While I fully realize the sensitive nature of this issue,” Smith said, “I hope that people will hear my story and perhaps either know what to look for in possible workplace financial deceit or think twice about their own decision-making processes with regards to such.”

Smith, a 1982 graduate of UNA, spent five years on the audit staff of Ernst & Young before being recruited by HealthSouth Corporation in 1987. During his tenure at HealthSouth, the company grew from 13 locations to more than 2,000, located in all 50 states, Puerto Rico, Canada, the United Kingdom and Saudi Arabia. Smith rose to the rank of CFO in 2001. While at Ernst & Young, he earned the Certified Public Accounting license.

For more information on Smith, visit his Web site at www.westonsmith.biz.

PHOTO AVAILABLE: For a photo of Smith, contact the UNA Office of University Communications at 256-765-4225 or baturpen@una.edu.