Last week’s presentation of a PricewatershouseCoopers audit of University of California compensation practices for 64 senior managers over a 10-year period was “welcomed” by President Robert C. Dynes, though it documented serious infractions of UC policies.

“I fully understand the changes that we must now enact,” he said. “The University has begun (an) overhaul of its compensation practices. This report, and the two audits to follow, will ratchet up that process.”

The audit was presented to a special meeting of the Board of Regents on April 24, leading Chair Gerald L. Parsky to note “public concerns about UC senior management compensation are among the most important issues” facing UC. He also said that “time is of absolute essence if we are to restore the public’s trust in the University.”

On April 17, Dynes announced actions his office was taking immediately or would take soon in response to the earlier findings and recommendations of the Regents-initiated Task Force on UC Compensation, Accountability, and Transparency. Last week, he underlined the urgency by noting progress in implementing new information systems to support internal controls; mandatory training in ethics for UC employees; a new Web site where compensation actions would be posted; and a coordinator to head a new Office of Public Records at UCOP.

For more details on the compensation issue and the external audit from PricewaterhouseCoopers, go to <www.universityofcalifornia.edu/news/compensation>. Still to come are the Bureau of State Audits report and the University auditor’s internal audit.