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Massachusetts Bay Community College

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Audit covers July 1, 1998 – November 30, 1999

9 figure(s) pending source verification - not shown

What the Auditor checked

What the Auditor found

MBCC had inadequate internal controls over manual checks, contract payments, and year-end encumbrances.
cash handlinginternal controlsprocurement/contractsfraud/theftvendor oversightrecordkeeping/documentation

Why it matters: An employee was able to issue and cash a check to herself, and a contractor was paid in advance for services not yet provided, increasing the risk of theft, improper payments, and misuse of appropriated funds.

Standard: Chapter 647 of the Acts of 1989; Office of the State Comptroller's Internal Control Guide for Departments, Section 7B; Office of the State Comptroller's Fiscal Year 1999 Closing Instructions. ( Chapter 647 of the Acts of 1989; Office of the State Comptroller's Internal Control Guide for Departments, Section 7B; Office of the State Comptroller's Fiscal Year 1999 Closing Instructions )

4 recommendations
  • Continue requiring manual checks to be manually signed, use inventory listings of manual checks, and perform timely bank reconciliations.agency: agreed
  • Ensure contracts are properly executed with attachments defining service scope and costs.agency: agreed
  • Segregate contract award, approval, and payment duties in accordance with OSC internal control guidance.agency: agreed
  • Adhere to OSC fiscal year closing instructions and only reserve funds for actual fiscal year-end payables.agency: agreed
Agency response & Auditor reply
Agency: "MBCC agrees with these recommendations."
MBCC had not fully corrected prior weaknesses in documenting travel and meal expenditures.
recordkeeping/documentationinternal controls

Why it matters: Travel-related trust fund expenditures could not always be shown to be valid, business-related, adequately supported, or consistent with applicable guidelines.

Standard: Board of Higher Education's "Standards for the Expenditures of Trust Funds." ( Board of Higher Education's "Standards for the Expenditures of Trust Funds" )

2 recommendations
  • Continue strengthening internal controls for travel-related costs and verify complete supporting documentation before preparing checks.agency: agreed
  • Require evidence that expenditures are business-related before deeming them appropriate.agency: agreed
Agency response & Auditor reply
Agency: "MBCC agrees with these recommendations."

Verified dollar findings

Other identified $1,950 not in headline

Identified dollar findings that do not fall in a named band.

$1,950 - unsupported credit card charges

Prior findings revisited

Being worked on
"Improvements Needed in Justifying and Documenting Expenditures for Travel and Meals (Partially Resolved): Our prior report disclosed that MBCC incurred questionable expenditures totaling s h () n n r because they did not show a clear relationship to MBCC's mission, did not denote a clear business purpose, did not clearly document participants, and were not consistent with guidelines set forth by the Board of Higher Education's (BHE) "Standards for the Expenditures of Trust Funds.""
Fixed
"b. Management of the Endowment Challenge Grant Fund (Resolved): Our prior review noted that fund transfers made to the Massachusetts Bay Community College Foundation, Inc., (a for purposes contrary to 34 Code of Federal Regulations, Part 628."
Fixed
"c. Prevailing Wage Law (Resolved): Our prior report disclosed that MBCC did not comply with Chapter 149, Sections 26 and 27, of the Massachusetts General Laws concerning the use of prevailing wages under its cleaning contract, which resulted in contractor employees being underpaid a total of $15,671."
Fixed
"d. Performance Bond Requirements of the Cleaning Contract Resolved): Our prior audit disclosed that, contrary to the terms set forth in the cleaning contract, MBCC did not obtain the required performance bond from its contractor."
Fixed
"e.Contractor's Payroll Record Certification (Resolved): Our prior audit disclosed that, under the terms of MBCC's cleaning contract, there was no requirement for the contractor to submit certified weekly payroll records for contract billings totaling S103,234."
Fixed
"f. Employment of Illegal Aliens by the Cleaning Contractor (Resolved): Our prior report disclosed that employees of the cleaning services contractor at MBCC and employees of a Rhode Island- based contractor who worked at other Massachusetts sites used questionable Social Security numbers."

More audits of this entity

Other Office of the State Auditor reports on Massachusetts Bay Community College , including the prior audits referenced above.

See this entity's page with all 5 audits →