Fatal Accounts: The Audacity of an Adventist Auditor's Quest for Transparency

A recently published book,Fatal Accounts, has become one of three books that some have come to be defined as theTerrible Trio. This is the personal story of Dave Dennis, who at age 56, was fired as the director of the General Conference Auditing Service, a post he had held for 19 years. He was purposely terminated only months from his 35th anniversary of denominational service, thus denying him early retirement possibilities. Over the next seven years Dennis waged a legal battle against the General Conference and those who had prosecuted his demise in the courts of Maryland. The defendants'sole strategy was to fight to keep the lawsuit from going to trial at an unaccounted for cost of millions of dollars representing mostly"tithe"funds. Finally, in late 2000 a terminally ill judge succumbed to the pressure and dismissed the case under First Amendment protection. Facing a continuing barrage of devastating and untrue public propaganda from the prolific offices of General Conference Public Relations, Dennis set about to write his memoirs over the next decade. In September 2009 his autobiography was launched at the University Church Chapel in Loma Linda, under the sponsorship ofAdventist Todaywhich had published the book. The principle objective of the book is the message that Dennis wishes to share with San Diego Adventist Forum ... that he will continue to be an articulate voice for transparency in the church. He will join the struggle for fiscal reform and full disclosure. He believes the issues that led to his untimely termination need to be addressed and corrected. He hopes to protect other reformers rising now and in the future from the undeserved treatment he suffered.