Directors' Biographies
Michael L. Somich
As the Executive Director of Internal Audits at Duke University, Mike Somich is responsible for all internal audit activities of the Duke University, Duke Management Company (DUMAC, LLC) and Duke Medicine, and reports to the chairs of the audit committees of Duke University, DUMAC and DUHS. Administratively, the department is housed in the offices of the President of the University and the Chancellor of DUHS.
Mike also chairs the Compliance Coordinating Committee of the Institutional Compliance Program and serves on the Executive Compliance Committee of DUHS and the Compliance Committee of the Duke University School of Medicine.
Prior to joining Duke University in November 2004, Mike had 31 years of experience specializing in hospital and related health care audits, most recently as a partner in the Deloitte & Touche accounting firm in Chicago, where he was a member of the firm’s National Health Care Task Force. The task force’s responsibilities include developing and conducting national health care training programs, developing industry-specific audit programs and revising them for standard changes, and determining the firm’s position with respect to emerging technical issues. Previous to Chicago, Mike was located in St. Louis, MO and Rochester, NY.
Mike earned Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees in Accounting from Syracuse University.
Leigh P. Goller
As the Director of Internal Audits for Duke University , Leigh Goller is responsible for all financial, operational and compliance audit activities and reports to Mike Somich, the Executive Director of Internal Audits at Duke University.
Upon joining Duke University in April 2007, Leigh brought with her extensive experience in audit, finance and risk management. Most recently, she was Grant Thornton LLP's Business Advisory Services practice leader for the Triangle market, where she coordinated and managed client services for internal audit, enterprise risk management and Sarbanes-Oxley financial controls assessments. Leigh also led national initiatives to develop practical interpretations of COSO's Enterprise Risk Management framework, including implementation and monitoring tools. Prior to joining Grant Thornton LLP, Leigh served in financial executive roles for privately-held and publicly-traded organizations in the technology and transportation industries. She began her career performing external audits with Arthur Andersen LLP, specializing in the not-for-profit sector.
Leigh is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Charlotte with a Bachelor of Science in Accounting. She is a North Carolina CPA, and a member of the AICPA and the IIA. Leigh is also a graduate of Leadership North Carolina Class XII and serves on the Advisory Board for the Department of Accounting at UNC Charlotte. She volunteers with The CEO Roundtable on Cancer organization providing financial leadership and advice.
Mark D. Phillips
As the Director of Internal Audits - IT at Duke University and Duke University Health Systems, Mark Phillips is responsible for all IT audit activities and reports to Mike Somich, the Executive Director of Internal Audits at Duke University. Mark also is a member of the SAP Financial Steering Committee.
Prior to joining Duke University in June 2006, Mark had nine years of experience with the Sara Lee Corporation. In this role, he managed the IT audit function for 10+ domestic and international entities across the Unites States, Canada, Mexico, Central America, and Japan as well as corporate office, a shared business services center (A/P, A/R, HR, Payroll, GA, and T&E processing), and a data center. In addition, Mark worked with senior management in the development and implementation of an approach for IT compliance to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. Prior to Sara Lee, Mark was with the Internal Audit for Food Lion, LLC, a subsidiary of Brussels-based Delhaize Group.
Mark holds a Bachelor degree in Business Administration from East Tennessee State University in Johnson City, TN and is a member of the Institute of Internal Auditors and the Information Systems Audit and Control Association. Mark also holds Certified Internal Auditor (CIA) and Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA) designations.
Valla F. Wilson
As the Director of Internal Audits for Duke Medicine, Valla Wilson is responsible for all financial, operational and compliance audit activities and reports to Mike Somich, the Executive Director of Internal Audits at Duke University.
Prior to joining the Office of Internal Audits in May 2007, Valla was the Chief Compliance Officer, HIPAA Privacy Officer, Research Integrity Officer and the Director of Corporate Integrity Services, which provided internal audit and corporate compliance services for Lakeland Regional Health Systems (“LRHS”) in Lakeland, Florida. During her five years at LRHS, she implemented an enterprise risk assessment program and the Corporate Compliance and Ethics program. Valla also led initiatives to create policies and procedures, and increase compliance awareness in areas such as Corporate Compliance and Ethics Program, Code of Conduct and HIPAA Privacy. She also co-chaired the Revenue Cycle Steering Committee and participated on the Executive Finance group established to identify revenue enhancement and expense reduction measures for improving LRHS finances.
Prior to her position at Lakeland Regional Health Systems, Valla served in the Arthur Andersen LLP (“AA”) Atlanta and Tampa offices as a manager in its Business Process Risk Consulting practice, specializing in the healthcare and higher education practices. One of her major responsibilities at AA was providing internal audit services under a co-sourcing arrangement at Emory University and Emory Healthcare. She also performed client services in enterprise risk management and financial control assessments and served as the Internal Audit director for clients in various industries that outsourced internal audit services to AA. Valla has also held financial, internal audit and operational management positions with several public companies and a government agency.
Valla is a Certified Internal Auditor (CIA). She has a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration and in Business Education from Peru State College in Nebraska and is a member of various professional organizations, including the IIA, HFMA, HCCA, HFMA and AHIA.