Meeting of the Audit & Risk Committee

Meeting: June 4, 2026 | Posted: September 15, 2026 | SURS Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes

The meeting of the Audit & Risk Committee of the Board of Trustees of the State Universities Retirement System (SURS) convened on Thursday, June 4, 2026, at 2:10 p.m. 

This meeting was conducted in person at Northern Trust in Chicago, IL.

The following trustees were present: Dr. Andry Bodnaruk; Dr. Fred Giertz, chair; Mr. Scott Hendrie; Ms. Jeanine Jiganti; Mr. Pranav Kothari; Mr. John Lyons; Mr. Herbert Pitman; Dr. Steven Rock; Mr. Collin Van Meter; and Mr. Antonio Vasquez.

Others present: Ms. Suzanne Mayer, Executive Director; Mr. Michael Schlachter, Chief Investment Officer (CIO); Ms. Bianca Green, General Counsel; Ms. Tara Myers, Chief Financial Officer; Ms. Jackie Hohn, Chief Internal Auditor; Ms. Nichole Hemming, Chief Human Resources Officer; Mr. Jefferey Saiger, Chief Strategy and Technology Officer; Mr. Mark Rowe, Chief Benefits Officer; Ms. Kristen Houch, Director of Legislative and Stakeholder Relations; Ms. Kelly Carson, Ms. Chelsea McCarty, and Ms. Annette Ackerman, Executive Assistants; and Mr. Michael Calabrese, Foley & Lardner LLP.

Audit & Risk Committee roll call attendance was taken: Trustee Bodnaruk, present; Trustee Giertz (chair), present; Trustee Hendrie, present; Trustee Pitman, present; and Trustee Rock, present.

Trustee Antonio Vasquez physically joined the meeting at 2:40 p.m.

Approval of Minutes

Trustee Giertz presented the minutes from the Audit & Risk Committee meeting of March 5, 2026.

Trustee Rock made the following motion:

• That the minutes for the Audit & Risk Committee Meeting of March 5, 2026, be approved as presented.

Trustee Pitman seconded the motion, which passed via all trustees present voting in favor of the motion.

Approval of Closed Minutes

Trustee Giertz presented the closed minutes from the Audit & Risk Committee meeting of March 5, 2026.

Trustee Hendrie made the following motion:

• That the closed minutes for the Audit & Risk Committee Meeting of March 5, 2026, be approved and remain closed.

Trustee Rock seconded the motion, which passed via all trustees present voting in favor of the motion.

Chairperson’s Report

Trustee Giertz did not have a formal chairperson’s report.

External Audits

Special Situation Funding (GASB 67 – Employer)

Ms. Jackie Hohn provided the report on the Special Funding Situation for the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2025. The audit was performed by RSM US LLP, as special assistant auditors for the Office of the Auditor General, who expressed an unmodified opinion on the System’s Schedule. Ms. Jackie Hohn provided additional background pertaining to the employer focused audit.

Special Funding Situation (GASB 67 – State)

Ms. Jackie Hohn provided the report on the Allocation of Pension Amounts for the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2025. The audit was performed by RSM US LLP, as special assistant auditors for the Office of the Auditor General, who expressed unmodified opinion of the System’s Schedule. Ms. Jackie Hohn briefly provided additional background pertaining to the state focused audit.

Internal Audits

Payroll Audit

Ms. Jackie Hohn discussed the payroll audit and the corresponding objectives to determine whether accounting and payment procedures used for the staff payroll function conform to applicable statutes, rules, policies, and procedures. The scope of the audit covered the pay period of August 6, 2024, through August 19, 2024, and involved a comprehensive testing of payroll activity. She discussed the few audit findings they identified and provided Internal Audit’s recommendations for addressing the same.

Approval of the Two-Year Audit Plan

Ms. Jackie Hohn presented the fiscal year 2027 Internal Audit Plan. She reviewed the multiple audit activities that will take place during this two-year Audit Plan, and she provided the estimated timeline for each planned audit.

Trustee Rock made the following motion:

• That the two-year audit plan be approved as presented.
  

Trustee Bodnaruk seconded the motion, which passed via the following roll call vote:

Trustee Bodnaruk – aye
Trustee Giertz – aye
Trustee Hendrie – aye
Trustee Pitman – aye
Trustee Rock – aye

Closed Session

Trustee Rock moved that the Audit & Risk Committee go into closed session at 2:22 p.m. pursuant to §2(c)(8) and §2(c)(29) of the Illinois Open Meetings Act for the consideration of security procedures. Trustee Hendrie seconded the motion and it passed via the following roll call vote:

Trustee Bodnaruk – aye
Trustee Giertz – aye
Trustee Hendrie – aye
Trustee Pitman – aye
Trustee Rock – aye

Return to Open Session

Open session resumed at 3:00 p.m.

Trustee Hendrie made the following motion:

• That the pursuant to section 40 ILCS/1-135, the Audit & Risk Committee direct SURS General Counsel to report the suspected fraud matters discussed in closed session to the appropriate state’s attorney and to relevant law enforcement agencies for further investigation.

Trustee Rock seconded the motion, which passed via the following roll call vote:

Trustee Bodnaruk – aye
Trustee Giertz – aye
Trustee Hendrie – aye
Trustee Pitman – aye
Trustee Rock – aye

Public Comment

There were no public comments presented to the Audit & Risk Committee.

Adjourn

There was no further business brought before the committee and Trustee Hendrie moved to adjourn the meeting. The motion was seconded by Trustee Rock, and it passed via the following roll call vote:

Trustee Bodnaruk – aye
Trustee Giertz – aye
Trustee Hendrie – aye
Trustee Pitman – aye
Trustee Rock – aye

Ms. Suzanne M. Mayer
Executive Director and Secretary, Board of Trustees