The Connecticut Office of Higher Education (OHE) continues to have problems with its asset management reports, according to a recent audit report. The State of Connecticut Auditors of Public Accounts released its audit of the OHE on Nov. 26. This report covered the fiscal years ending in 2022 and 2023.
The last four audits of OHE, starting with the audit covering the fiscal years ending in June 2012, found problems with asset management reports.
OHE is required to maintain a property inventory and must follow the requirements and format set by the State Comptroller.
One of the requirements for OHE is maintaining a software library. This software library has a minimum data requirement, which OHE did not meet. Auditors could not determine the exact worth, in dollars, of the missing software.
OHE is also required to tag, record and maintain capital assets and controllable property reports in the Core-CT Asset Management module. These reports need to be submitted to the State Comptroller every year.
There were numerous discrepancies in Core-CT asset records and the OHE’s internal listings. Sixty-eight assets, worth a combined $94,000, did not show up in its Core-CT records but were in its internal listings. There were an additional 51 items, worth a total of $56,200, that were in the Core-CT report, but not in the internal listings. An additional 89 assets reported to Core-CT records were missing important information, including how much they cost.
There were other problems with the OHE’s asset management report: it submitted the forms late for the 2023 fiscal year; and the latest version of the forms, which were submitted in June 2024, understated the beginning balance by $30,650—a consequence of incorrectly carrying forward the balance from the previous year.
State auditors concluded that “there appears to be inadequate internal controls and lack of management oversight in this area.” It found that these deficiencies create “an increased risk of inaccurate reporting and loss of state property.”
The asset management reports were one of four “noteworthy” problem areas that state auditors identified in their review of the 2022 and 2023 fiscal years.
Auditors also identified 16 instances where private career schools sent in late quarterly payments. At least one of these payments was submitted 24 months late. In all 16 cases, OHE did not have proof it sent a written notice to these schools.
At one point, the OHE made 11 purchase orders with a combined worth of more than $1.6 million. Auditors reviewed 20 vouchers related to these purchases and discovered that OHE did not promptly commit funds for two of the purchases. These two purchases had a combined worth of $47,000.
Finally, the auditors reviewed 10 employees who telecommuted during the auditing period and found four of them did not complete applications for their telecommuting periods.
Auditors recommend OHE strengthen its internal controls so it can safeguard assets, improve reporting accuracy, quickly follow up with late payments from private career schools and send notices when payments are missed, commit to funds before purchasing goods and services, and enter accurate information into Core-CT. The auditors also stated that OHE should follow the Department of Administrative Services’s (DAS) telework policy.
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