On April 25, 2002, 19 days into her tenure as Fresno State women's basketball coach, Stacy Johnson-Klein walked into Footaction USA at Fashion Fair and spent $221.11 on four pairs of sneakers. She charged them to her credit card.

The next day, Johnson-Klein filled out a check request form to the Athletic Corp., the auxiliary organization that finances Bulldogs sports, indicating the shoes were for her staff members. She signed the document, dated it and provided the receipt.

Johnson-Klein's purchase raised a red flag when the California State University system conducted an audit of the Athletic Corp.

According to the sales receipt, a copy of which was obtained by The Bee, one of the pairs of shoes is described as "kid's tennis." Auditors questioned why a reimbursement for staff equipment would include a child's shoes. They also questioned why the check request form lacked approving signatures.

Fresno State had an explanation for the child's shoes. According to Chris Robinson, interim assistant controller for athletics, the shoes were bought for a team manager with small feet. "Size 6," Robinson said. "You buy the shoe, it's rung up as a child's shoe and the receipt says child's shoe."

The shoe purchase is just one item in a 25-page report reviewing Athletic Corp. financial practices during a four-year window from 1999 to 2002. The inquiry into the shoe purchase is an example of how detailed such audits are.

A similar audit, conducted last year at San Diego State, led to an investigation that resulted in the dismissal of three senior athletic department personnel, including athletic director Rick Bay.

"All the findings we take seriously, but I don't believe we've seen anything that suggests there has been malfeasance or other things that would require a deeper investigation," said Fresno State's vice president for student affairs, Paul Oliaro, who doubles as Athletic Corp. chairman.

"What it does mean is we really do have to go back, look individually at each item and see what we need to do to correct our policies and procedures."

Notable in the audit's findings was the Athletic Corp.'s failure to post public notice of board of directors and committee meetings for one week. Dates of future meetings will be posted in the University Student Union, Oliaro said.

In addition, the audit found a quorum was not present during four board meetings between June 2000 and June 2001. For example, on June 27, 2000, the Athletic Corp. approved a budget and five-year plan without a majority of board members present.

A Fresno State official indicated "there may have been a misunderstanding over the definition of a quorum," according to the report.

Auditors found several instances in which accounting methods lacked adequate controls. Business office and ticket office officials were allowed to improperly consolidate duties in areas of accounts payable, accounts receivable and personnel.

"People get to a point where they get too familiar with everybody, they trust everybody in the department and over time some of those [controls] are forgotten," Robinson said. "Somebody will leave a position, and we'll forget that that position was supposed to check somebody else. It's oversight."

Auditors discovered several areas in which ticket controls were inadequate. The log for the use of blank ticket stock was not maintained; ticket sales could not be consistently reconciled to cash receipts; and tickets used for complimentary or trade-out purposes were not properly recorded.

Auditors compiled more than 180 examples, including the child's shoes, in which cash disbursements were not supported by sufficient documentation or proper authorization.

Fresno State is overhauling its payment procedures, and new policies will be submitted to the university audit committee Feb. 23, Robinson said.

Among the findings:

In three instances, payment for country club membership dues was not supported by an explanation of how it benefits the university's educational mission.

Three Bulldogs coaches have country club memberships included in their contracts for the purpose of entertaining guests, according to Robinson.

Two employees were paid $600 each to clean Athletic Corp. vans. The money was not reported as income.

In 21 instances, food and beverage expenditures did not explain the purpose of the activity.

Booster clubs held raffles distributed from corporation funds without proper state authorization.

In four instances, an official authorized his own reimbursement for personal expenses.

In two instances, payments for personal credit cards were not supported by the billing statement.

In one instance, authorization for first-class travel was not documented.