Post by krazykev on Oct 22, 2008 7:19:13 GMT -5
GREENSBORO - N.C. A&T has a handle on buying small stuff on credit and is using its plastic properly far more often than not, according to a state audit.
A strategic audit review released Tuesday found the university's use of procurement cards "was functioning as planned," State Auditor Leslie Merritt wrote.
"They do have a good system of internal controls in place," said Chris Mears of the state auditor's office, "and that does say a lot for N.C. A&T or for any organization."
That's welcome news for A&T, where audits in recent years found evidence of misused funds, poor internal controls and allegations of nepotism and poor over-
sight.
"I've been here about a year now, and we're taking a close look at all our major control cycles," said Robert Pompey, A&T's vice chancellor for business and finance. "We do feel like we're getting better, and we're going to continue to get even better. I do think we're on the right track."
This state audit focused on procurement cards, which work much like Visa or MasterCard credit cards. A P-card program allows big organizations to simplify small purchases, reducing requisitions, purchase orders, invoices and checks.
The audit examined A&T's P-card purchases from December 2006 through December 2007 - 20,212 transactions totaling more than $5.17 million.
A few transactions violated university or state policy:
The Student Government Association spent $872.45 over its allowed budget for "homecoming coronation attire."
There were two cases of gift and gift card purchases, which are not allowed on P-cards.
Two bills were paid late, incurring $755 in finance charges. Policy dictates P-cards never carry a balance.
There were four purchases submitted without proper documentation. In each case, a supervisor approved his own P-card purchase.
"Our policy is, we always go one up," Pompey said. "No matter who you are here, you have a boss. And your supervisor is required to sign off on any purchase."
Pompey said the few violations - especially when compared to the amount of purchases - were encouraging.
"Overall, I'm not disturbed by this audit and its findings," Pompey said.
"Of course, from our standpoint, our goal is to have no findings at all. We take each report we get and use it as a springboard to help us improve."
Contact Jeff Mills at 373-7024 or jeff.mills@news-record.com
A strategic audit review released Tuesday found the university's use of procurement cards "was functioning as planned," State Auditor Leslie Merritt wrote.
"They do have a good system of internal controls in place," said Chris Mears of the state auditor's office, "and that does say a lot for N.C. A&T or for any organization."
That's welcome news for A&T, where audits in recent years found evidence of misused funds, poor internal controls and allegations of nepotism and poor over-
sight.
"I've been here about a year now, and we're taking a close look at all our major control cycles," said Robert Pompey, A&T's vice chancellor for business and finance. "We do feel like we're getting better, and we're going to continue to get even better. I do think we're on the right track."
This state audit focused on procurement cards, which work much like Visa or MasterCard credit cards. A P-card program allows big organizations to simplify small purchases, reducing requisitions, purchase orders, invoices and checks.
The audit examined A&T's P-card purchases from December 2006 through December 2007 - 20,212 transactions totaling more than $5.17 million.
A few transactions violated university or state policy:
The Student Government Association spent $872.45 over its allowed budget for "homecoming coronation attire."
There were two cases of gift and gift card purchases, which are not allowed on P-cards.
Two bills were paid late, incurring $755 in finance charges. Policy dictates P-cards never carry a balance.
There were four purchases submitted without proper documentation. In each case, a supervisor approved his own P-card purchase.
"Our policy is, we always go one up," Pompey said. "No matter who you are here, you have a boss. And your supervisor is required to sign off on any purchase."
Pompey said the few violations - especially when compared to the amount of purchases - were encouraging.
"Overall, I'm not disturbed by this audit and its findings," Pompey said.
"Of course, from our standpoint, our goal is to have no findings at all. We take each report we get and use it as a springboard to help us improve."
Contact Jeff Mills at 373-7024 or jeff.mills@news-record.com
