Springfield Technical Community College
December 28, 2017 · Read the full official report (PDF) ↗ · official site ↗
Published December 28, 2017 Audit covers July 1, 2014 – December 31, 2016 Under Suzanne M. Bump · 2011–2023
source
“STCC did not properly administer its inventory of fixed assets.”
Read the plain-English breakdown
This is a state performance audit of certain Springfield Technical Community College activities for July 1, 2014 through December 31, 2016.
“In accordance with Section 12 of Chapter 11 of the Massachusetts General Laws, the Office of the State Auditor has conducted a performance audit of certain activities of Springfield Technical Community College (STCC) for the period July 1, 2014 through December 31, 2016.”
Auditors were checking whether the college had fixed past problems with equipment inventory and procurement cards, and they also reviewed disability-access compliance.
“In this performance audit, we followed up on issues we identified during our prior audit of STCC (No. 2010-0205-12S), including examining the inventory process for fixed assets and expenditures made with procurement cards (ProCards).”
If equipment is not tracked properly, the college has a greater risk that property could be stolen or misused without being noticed.
“As a result, there is a higher-than-acceptable risk of undetected theft or misuse of these assets.”
For Massachusetts residents, this matters because a public college should protect public resources, document spending, and get good value when buying services.
“Without adhering to competitive purchasing procedures, STCC cannot be certain it received the best value for these services.”
The auditor found three main problems: weak fixed-asset inventory controls, improper procurement-card purchasing, and missing travel approval or expense paperwork for procurement-card travel.
“ProCard users did not submit purchase requisitions for approval before traveling or Travel Expense Vouchers after traveling.”
The report recommends that STCC tighten its inventory procedures, clarify vendor responsibilities, update procurement-card rules, review vendors annually, and enforce travel paperwork requirements.
“STCC should enforce its active policies requiring ProCard users to submit purchase requisitions for travel-related ProCard purchases and to submit Travel Expense Vouchers at the end of travel for expenses incurred during trips, including charges made to ProCards.”
This was not only about paperwork: the audit found missing inventory details for more than half of the assets listed and identified purchases that were not on the inventory lists.
“Further, we analyzed STCC’s inventory lists and found that 2,382 of the 4,052 assets on the lists were missing information critical to making assets identifiable and recordable, such as locations, serial/tag numbers, and purchase amounts.”
A ProCard is a procurement card, meaning a payment card used by college staff to buy goods or services for college business.
“There were 114 ProCard users who made purchases totaling $2,721,861 during the audit period.”
7 figure(s) pending source verification - not shown
What the Auditor checked
- Did not comply Does STCC purchase, record, and safeguard property and equipment in accordance with its inventory policies and procedures, and has it implemented the recommendations of our prior audit?
- Did not comply Are expenditures that are made with procurement cards (ProCards) approved, supported, and business related, and has STCC implemented the recommendations of our prior audit?
- Complied Does STCC perform ongoing reviews of programs and services provided to students with disabilities to ensure that it accommodates those students’ needs?
- Complied Does STCC’s emergency evacuation plan consider the needs of students with disabilities, and is it supported through communication and training?
- Complied Does STCC give students with disabilities access to requested supplemental learning aids, services, and/or alternative testing formats?
What the Auditor found
Why it matters: There was a higher-than-acceptable risk of undetected theft or misuse of fixed assets.
Standard: Office of the State Comptroller fixed-asset policies and STCC Internal Control Document requirements for annual inventory and asset tagging. ( Office of the State Comptroller Fixed Assets—Acquisition Policy; Office of the State Comptroller Fixed Assets—Accounting and Management Policy; STCC Internal Control Document )
4 recommendations
- STCC should update its policies and procedures to be specific about the processes of adding new inventory records or updating existing ones and of performing, documenting, and reconciling the annual physical inventory of fixed assets.agency: agreed
- STCC should communicate these changes to the third-party vendor responsible for its inventory.agency: agreed
- STCC should request that the vendor complete and reconcile the annual inventory of all assets, update missing required fields, ensure all assets have inventory tags, and keep documentation of inventory completion and reconciliation.agency: agreed
- STCC should amend the current contract with its third-party vendor to clarify expectations and deliverables for inventory.agency: agreed
Agency response & Auditor reply
Agency: "The College agrees with the finding."
Why it matters: Without competitive purchasing procedures and prior authorization, STCC could not be certain it received best value or that purchases were appropriate and necessary.
Standard: STCC Internal Control Document procurement requirements and STCC ProCard Program Policy restrictions. ( STCC Internal Control Document; STCC ProCard Program Policy )
2 recommendations
- STCC should annually review payments to specific vendors and determine whether goods or services should be subject to purchasing procedures, including keeping support for sole source determinations.agency: agreed
- STCC should update its ProCard Program Policy to require prior authorization for restricted ProCard purchases and notify ProCard users.agency: agreed
Agency response & Auditor reply
Agency: "The College agrees with the finding."
Prior findings revisited
"In this performance audit, we followed up on issues we identified during our prior audit of STCC (No. 2010-0205-12S), including examining the inventory process for fixed assets and expenditures made with procurement cards (ProCards)."
More audits of this entity
Other Office of the State Auditor reports on Springfield Technical Community College , including the prior audits referenced above.
- Audit of Springfield Technical Community College (STCC)College / University · August 18, 2021