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Auditor general flags concerns, makes recommendations for SAIT and U of C

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Two of Calgary’s post-secondary institutions are being told by the province’s auditor general to tighten up their financial reporting.

An annual report released Wednesday outlines auditor general Doug Wylie’s recommendations for SAIT and the University of Calgary to improve the accuracy, timeliness and quality of financial statements to the province. Set up like an elementary school report card, the report grades each of the province’s universities, which offers insight into how well the institution handles financial information.

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“This report card is really trying to simplify this information and let people know how the institution that either they’re attending or they’re an alumni for or just in the neighbourhood, how well they are performing and if there are areas that they need to improve,” said assistant auditor general Robert Driesen.

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The auditor general also found SAIT was failing to follow its current policies by allowing terminated employees to maintain electronic access to information.

“With SAIT, it opens up an opportunity for someone to access their system on an unauthorized basis, and you never want to leave an opening or hole for someone to access the system to gain access to data or other information,” said Driesen, stressing the importance of strict access.

The recommendation is for SAIT to practise discipline with access policies and access is removed when appropriate.

According to Driesen, the University of Calgary made a significant error in its financial statement due to a lack of internal controls.

Arches stand at the main entrance to the University of Calgary.
Arches stand at the main entrance to the University of Calgary. Photo by Lyle Aspinall /Postmedia Network

“The University of Calgary does have an internal controls program but it’s incomplete . . . There was really no one in charge of making sure the controls worked properly,” said Driesen.

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The university made a $120-million error in its report to the auditor general last year as a result of the incomplete program, according to Driesen. The recommendation is for the school to mitigate its risk of error by designing stronger controls, putting them in place and consistently monitoring them.

The schools have two to three years to make the appropriate adjustments.

Understanding how universities are handling their finances and financial information is important for the province and taxpayers, according to Driesen.

“Every taxpayer in this province should be able to see how well their tax money is being spent and are the institutions doing a good job of reporting how they’re doing that,” said Driesen. “Hopefully, that helps Albertans understand a little bit better what their post-secondary institutions are doing to report on their performance.”

sbabych@postmedia.com

Twitter: @BabychStephanie

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