The University System of Maryland plans to double the amount of staff who review university spending by next year while universities nationwide are boosting review efforts following the presidential scandal at American University.

The increase in the auditing staff is pure coincidence and not a reaction to the firing of AU President Benjamin Ladner earlier this semester, said Jim Rosapepe, vice chairman of the board’s audit committee. System officials said there weren’t any serious scandals within the system.

The system office, which oversees the system’s 11 public universities, wanted to strengthen its auditing process by adding four new staff members this year and four more next year, bringing the total to 16, said system Vice Chancellor for Finance and Administration Joe Vivona.

“Everyone is going to pay better attention at what they do,” said regent Dick Hug. “Only when you know no one is watching, only then you will do something wrong.”

After an investigation into Ladner’s expenses in August, auditors found at least $500,000 in travel costs and other personal expenses, including trips for his personal chef to Paris, London and Rome. They found nearly $54,000 in driver’s costs and $44,000 in alcoholic drinks. Ladner accepted a $950,000 settlement, but the scandal forced university administrators nationwide to re-evaluate their auditing processes.

“I think it was a disgrace that the trustees approved that kind of [settlement] to somebody that, according to reports, was obviously squandering the university’s money,” Hug said.

This university system was already considering increasing its auditing staff long before the AU scandal, Rosapepe said. The new additions come in part of the Sarbanes-Oxley financial disclosure law – passed after huge scandals such as the one that brought down the energy company Enron Corp. – that tightens accountability on corporations, Vivona said.

This system has had small problems with employees who have stolen money or tried to embezzle money from the system, Vivona said. Officials have caught employees trying to steal amounts totaling about $100 from the system accounts. He said the system has strong policies on university spending, such as auditors keeping a close eye on credit cards used by administrators.

“It doesn’t mean you can’t have scandals,” Vivona said. “We’ve had our fair share … By and large, it’s not widespread.”

In 2002, the Board of Regents threatened to fire then-Towson University President Mark Perkins for his extravagant spending for the renovation of his state-owned home, The Chronicle of Higher Education reported in April that year. Perkins ran more than $360,000 over his $850,000 budget to renovate the president’s house, though he entertained only a few guests, The Chronicle reported.

Perkins resigned three days after strict questioning from the regents.

“I think the regents acted very responsively,” Rosapepe said. “We’re not going to tolerate that kind of abuse.”

The regents approved funding for these new positions, which cost at least $70,000 in annual salary per person, Vivona said. Auditors report directly to the regents to remain independent of system officials who are also subjected to their audits. The university system goes through dozens of audits annually by private companies and by state analysts, Vivona said.

Other university presidents including those at Georgetown and George Washington universities have added increased audits following the AU scandal, The Washington Post reported Monday.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. Contact reporter Laurie Au at lauriedbk@gmail.com.