The Louisville Urban League again earned an unmodified or “clean” audit opinion for 2023 from its independent auditors, Jones, Nale, & Mattingly PLC. While the League has had years of clean audits, this year’s audit was unprecedented because it contained no comments or recommendations for improvement. It is a considerable feat for an organization with such exponential growth!

While a clean audit is typical for any organization as strong as the Louisville Urban League, it is atypical for an entire accounting team to be made up of brilliant professionals of color. Our CFO, Anthony Leachman, named one of the Best in Finance by Louisville Business First in 2022, is one of the 2% of African Americans in the country serving as Certified Public Accountants. He has led an extraordinary finance team, and together, they have worked tirelessly over the last several years to implement new systems and restructure outdated processes. They are skilled individuals who could lead or support any for-profit accounting department, and they choose to lend their talents to the League and our community.

Rhonda Mitchell, our Chief Risk Officer, has also been stellar in her work. An accounting professional with over thirty years of audit experience, Rhonda has brought all of her expertise to ensure the League is one of the most well-run organizations in Louisville and one of the best affiliates in the Urban League network. She has been and continues to be an incomparable force of strength and accountability for the League, just as she has been for multi-billion dollar organizations in her career.

This audit highlights the quality of work of the Urban League leadership team and our willingness and commitment to take previous recommendations seriously and implement them. 

We acknowledge and thank every member of our board who helped to make this possible by earnestly approaching their fiduciary responsibility and dedicating their time and talent to the success of the League, ensuring that we are always in the best position to serve this community. In particular, our Board Chair, Lori Lee, Finance Chair, Patricia Carver, CPA, Bellarmine University, and our Audit Chair, Neal Thomas, CPA, Ernst & Young. All of whom have shown outstanding commitment and leadership over the years. 

Announcements like these typically don’t make news, but they matter because they underscore the quality and integrity with which the work is done. We hope this will serve as an example of the possible accomplishments when an organization is intentional about excellence and inclusion. I am proud of our work and honored to lead and serve alongside the extraordinary team who made this possible.

About the Louisville Urban League
The Louisville Urban League assists African Americans and those at the margins in attaining social and economic equality and stability through direct services and advocacy. For more information, go to lul.org or follow us on Facebook, Twitter  (@louisvilleUL), or Instagram (@louisville_ul).