Dundee City Council chief Greg Colgan has thrown up a wall of silence in relation to his role as a representative on the university’s governing court.
The local authority did not respond to repeated requests for comment on the chief executive’s response to the Gillies Review, which found governance at the institution failed last year.
Mr Colgan role was specifically listed as one of the ongoing conflicts of interests on the court by Professor Pamela Gillies – who was commissioned to conduct an independent review of the financial crisis.
The Courier asked Mr Colgan if he considered his position tenable in light of the governance failures. He did not respond.
Mr Colgan is a trained accountant and member of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants.
Ms Gillies found the university’s governing body collectively failed to ask the appropriate questions about the institutions financial health.
In particular, she says a “reasonable person” would have quizzed executives about several factors.
The report says: “The absence of management accounts should have been of considerable concern, and a reasonable person should not have accepted this status.”
Court members should consider their position
The report says it should have concluded by the court that the financial position was worse than presented.
Dundee-based Labour MSP Michael Marra told The Courier Mr Colgan, alongside other members of the court, should consider their position.
He says it is “very clear” governance needs a “complete overhaul”.
The Labour MSP added: “They have failed abysmally and so we should expect that everyone in position will be very carefully considering how they failed in their own responsibilities to question and to challenge.
“There are clear capability issues as well as a failure of culture. The council chief executive’s role has been specifically identified as conflicted in the structure in audit, risk and finance functions.
“My experience of recent years is that there is no effective distance between the executive and court.
“Mr Colgan has a broader responsibility to the city that must be discharged through transparency and candour at this moment.
“He, in line with all members of court should consider whether they are part of the solution and where they went wrong but his public position means he must set out that thinking to the public.”
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