A new state audit on Alabama A&M University found the HBCU had multiple non-compliance issues.
The audit looked at the school’s accounts from 2019 to 2022. In the 2023 filing, the school violated seven areas of compliance, as confirmed by WHNT.
The Alabama Department of Examiners of Public Accounts discovered that the HBCU did not correctly input an employee’s salary into its system. The mistake resulted in an overpayment of thousands of dollars to the employee.
The issue stemmed from the employee, who began working at the HBCU in March 2022, receiving an incorrect hire form. The document had an earlier end date than contractually agreed upon. As a result, the person obtained more funds during their employment. However, the form was consistently approved by the University system, falling through the cracks until this recent audit.
“The form was approved on eight different occasions by seven different approvers. Based on the hire form, the employee’s annual salary was entered into the accounting system to be paid over seven months instead of 12 months, resulting in a payroll overpayment totaling $7,228.26,” the state audit said.
Another notable non-compliance area occurred within the Athletic Department at Alabama A&M. The Examiners’ office found that the school did not “ensure accountability” for all tickets printed and sold.
It added, “Reconciliations provided were only for game day sales and were not reconciled to the general ledger. Discounts were provided to alumni, faculty, and staff, and for tailgate packages without documentation or a standard list of the types of discounts offered. Neither a listing of complimentary tickets nor evidence of supervisory review of the complimentary tickets issued could be provided.”
The school has since rectified the matter by ensuring all ticket sales are cashless. However, the school still must resolve multiple violations, including failing to reconcile student accounts receivable and accounts payable. The audit also found that the school lacked policies for bank reconciliations, suggesting that Alabama A&M take steps to develop these procedures to approve reconciliations promptly.
The school’s research station also circumvented its purchasing process, while journal entries did not follow proper procedure for review and approval either.
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