Outsourced CFO Mark Quigley says RMC has about $21.5 million and expects audited statements within a month

Mark Quigley, an independent CPA with Quigley and Associates, told the Calhoun County Council on June 24 that the entity that retains the hospital’s real estate, the Regional Medical Center (RMC), is maintaining financial controls after the transfer of operations to MUSC.

Quigley, who said he was engaged in December 2023 to serve as an outsourced CFO for RMC, described the February 2023 transaction as a leasing arrangement under which MUSC operates the hospital while RMC retains ownership of the real estate. "We continue to comply with our arrangement ... it's a leasing arrangement," Quigley said, describing steps taken to separate identity and operations between the two entities.

He told council members the executive committee has established new governance and back-office infrastructure, engaged attorneys, and is working with an independent auditor. "We are very close to issuing an audit report as of the date of the closing of the transaction," Quigley said, adding auditors "should be issued within the next month," an expectation he attributed to the audit firm’s current work.

On RMC’s liquidity, Quigley said, "there's approximately 21.5 million dollars of liquid assets that are inside of various bank accounts," while also noting outstanding liabilities and contingent obligations related to future settlements and audits. He said MUSC has assumed most accounts payable but that RMC retains responsibility for some items and must be prepared to comply with Medicare and the state Medicaid program cost-reporting and audit processes.

Council members pressed Quigley on details: he said he is contractually engaged by RMC, operates his own firm out of Camden, S.C., and that RMC currently has no W‑2 employees because hospital staff became MUSC employees; RMC maintains a small number of contractors for administrative tasks.

Quigley also identified the audit firm involved (formerly Dixon Hughes, now part of Foris/Mazars) and said he meets with auditors regularly while they conclude the engagement. He recommended that RMC continue periodic audits going forward.

The presentation concluded with Quigley offering to provide follow-up information and to coordinate through the county administrator for any additional documents council members need. The council did not take formal action on the RMC presentation during the meeting.