REPORT DIGEST
ILLINOIS COMMUNITY COLLEGE BOARD
COMPLIANCE EXAMINATION
For the Two Years Ended June 30, 2010
Summary of Findings:
Total this audit: 6
Total last audit: 7
Repeated from last audit: 5
Release Date: May 12, 2011
State of Illinois, Office of the Auditor General
WILLIAM G. HOLLAND, AUDITOR GENERAL
To obtain a copy of the Report contact:
Office of the Auditor General, Iles Park Plaza, 740 E. Ash Street, Springfield, IL 62703
(217) 782-6046 or TTY (888) 261-2887
This Report Digest and Full Report are also available on the worldwide web at www.auditor.illinois.gov
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SYNOPSIS
• The Illinois Community College Board (Board) did not
exercise adequate control over the recording and reporting of its State
Property.
• The Board did not have adequate controls over its
contractual agreements.
• The Board failed to enforce compliance with the Rules and
Regulations over timely submission of required informational reports and
schedules.
FINDINGS, CONCLUSIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS
PROPERTY CONTROL WEAKNESS
The Illinois Community College Board (Board) did not
exercise adequate control over the recording and reporting of its State
property. We noted the following:
• Two of eight (25%) Quarterly Reports of State Property (C-15’s) prepared by the Board and submitted to the Office of the Comptroller did not accurately reflect the Board’s equipment transactions. Two leased vehicles were recorded at the wrong amount and were misclassified.
• The Board did not include two vehicles on the Annual Inventory Certifications submitted to the Department of Central Management Services.
• The Board did not complete and submit the Accounting for Leases-Lessee Form (SCO-560) with the Office of the Comptroller for two copiers totaling $65,500.
• Equipment tested, totaling $229,140, was not properly identified with a six digit identification number.
• Seven of 50 (14%) property items, totaling $7,031 were located within the Board; however, the physical locations differed from the locations specific on the Board’s property records. In addition, one item, totaling $391 could not be located.
• The Board’s property records do not contain enough
information to determine whether the Board property items were added to their
property records in a timely manner.
(Finding 1, pages 9-10)
We recommended the Board strengthen controls over the
recording and reporting of State property by reviewing their inventory and
recordkeeping practices to ensure compliance with statutory and regulatory
requirements. We also recommend the
Board ensure all equipment is accurately and timely recorded on the Board’s property
records and properly tagged. Lastly, we
recommend the Board thoroughly review all reports prepared from internal
records for accuracy before submission to the State Comptroller.
Board management concurred with our finding and stated it
has made corrections to inventory and recordkeeping to ensure compliance with
statutory and regulatory compliance.
INADEQUATE CONTROLS OVER CONTRACTUAL AGREEMENTS
The Board did not have adequate controls over its contractual agreements. We noted the following:
• Three of 25 (12%) contracts, were incomplete and did not comply with laws, rules and regulations regarding contract content. Two of the three contracts did not contain the State Board of Elections Certification and one of the three contracts did not contain the Illinois Use Tax Certification.
• Eighteen of 25 (72%) contract obligation documents (COD), totaling $5,185,823, were not properly completed. The CODs were missing required information on the award code for exemption from bidding. Therefore it was not clear why the procurements were exempt from a competitive procurement process.
• Two of 25 (8%) contracts, totaling $150,355, were not approved by the Department of Central Management Services. One contract was for a server and one contract was for EDP professional and artistic services.
• Two of 25 (8%) contracts, totaling $2,135,037, were not
signed or approved in writing by all three required management personnel. The contracts were only approved by the Chief
Executive Officer. (Finding 3, pages
12-14)
We recommended the Department strengthen controls to ensure
contractual agreements and CODs are properly completed and approved and contain
all required elements.
Board management concurred with our finding and stated staff
will continue to work to ensure contractual agreements and contract obligation
documents are properly completed and contain all required elements.
STATE AND FEDERAL GRANT REPORTING BY ILLINOIS COMMUNITY
COLLEGE DISTRICTS
The Board failed to enforce compliance with the Rules and
Regulations over timely submission of required informational reports and
schedules. Informational reports and
schedules are required to be prepared by the districts/colleges and submitted
to the Board to provide data necessary to determine funding and to ensure the
funds are being properly utilized. A few
examples of informational reports and schedules include spring and fall
enrollment surveys, square footage and acreage information, faculty and staff salary
data and annual financial statements and notice of publication. These reports are due at various times
throughout the year. We noted:
• 108 of 270 (40%) informational reports due in fiscal year
2009 were submitted to the Board between one and 314 days late. Six reports were not received by the end of
our fieldwork.
• 89 of 270 (33) informational reports due in fiscal year
2010 were submitted to the Board between one and 188 days late. Six reports were not received by the end of
our fieldwork. (Finding 5, page 17) This finding was first reported in 1996. (For the previous Department response, see
Digest Footnote #1.)
We recommended the Board review the adequacy of their
policies and procedures regarding the submission of audit reports and other
required reports. We further recommend
the Board continue to work with each district to ensure required reports are
submitted timely.
Board management concurred with our finding and stated they
will review procedures to determine if any other methods of enforcement can be
used within the statutory guidelines.
OTHER FINDINGS
The remaining findings pertain to: 1) misallocation of
grants to community college districts, 2) inadequate controls over its personal
services function, and 3) failure to file its internal control certification
for Fiscal Year 2010. We will follow up
on these findings during our next examination of the Board.
AUDITORS’ OPINION
We conducted a compliance examination of the Board as
required by the Illinois State Auditing Act.
The Board has no funds that require an audit leading to an opinion of
financial statements.
WILLIAM G. HOLLAND
Auditor General
WGH:JSC
AUDITORS ASSIGNED
This examination was performed by the Office of the Auditor
General’s staff.
DIGEST FOOTNOTES
#1 – STATE AND FEDERAL GRANT REPORTING BY ILLINOIS COMMUNITY
COLLEGE DISTRICTS – Previous Board Response
2008: We concur with the finding. At this time the Board does not have any other power to enforce timely submissions other than through continuous follow-up. The Board will review and see if any other non-monetary methods of enforcement can be used within the statutory guidelines.