Rebecca Cowan hired as Fort Smith’s internal auditor

The Fort Smith Board of Directors agreed on a replacement for the city’s internal auditor position during a special called meeting Tuesday (April 22), finally filling a void that has been vacant for more than a year.

The board unanimously approved a resolution to hire Rebecca Cowan for the position of internal auditor with an annual salary of $110,000.02. Her start date will be May 27. Cowan will fill the position left vacant when Tracey Shockley left April 1, 2024, after nine years with the city.

As director of internal audit, Cowan will lead efforts to ensure efficiency, effectiveness, and accountability across all city departments, according to the city.

The city contacted with accounting firm Baker Tilly for auditing services until an internal auditor could be found, paying $10,000 a month for that service.

While many on the board believed Baker Tilly was doing a good job, they agreed the role needs to be done by someone working for the city. On Feb. 27, the board agreed it wanted to expedite the process of filling the position.

“It doesn’t seem like it (having an outside company handling the audit) helps fight corruption or being on top of things,” said Director Christina Catsavis. “I think we definitely need to have an internal auditor. We need someone who is accountable, who is visible, and who we can point to that can answer our questions.”

The city hired SGR, a Keller, Texas-based executive recruitment firm, to help fill the position.

Cowan is an “experienced, results-oriented internal audit professional with a demonstrated history of working in the healthcare, global retail, logistics and state agency,” according to her resume. She is a senior accountant at the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith, a position she has held since October 2022.

Prior to that, she was a consultant team member for Partner Advisory Network in Fort Smith for two years. Past work history includes an internal audit manager for Walmart in Bentonville, senior internal auditor for ArcBest in Fort Smith, and account compliance manager with USA Truck in Van Buren.

She has an associate’s degree from UAFS and a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Arkansas State University in Jonesboro.