Committee Report | March 2012

Report of

REGENTS COMMITTEE ON AUDITS/BUDGET AND FINANCE

to

The Board of Regents

March 20, 2012

The Regents Committee on Audits/Budget and Finance met as scheduled on March 19, 2012.  Vice Chair Bendit, Chancellor Tisch, Vice Chancellor Cofield, Regents Cottrell, Phillips, Tallon, Tilles, and Young were in attendance.

Chair’s Remarks:  Regent Chapey welcomed everyone and stressed the important role budget, finance, and auditing plays and will continue to play in the implementation of the Reform Agenda.

Items for Discussion

Budget and Legislative Update

The Committee was updated on the 2012-13 Budget. The legislature continues to move toward adoption of a budget. Both houses will participate in joint budget conference committees.

Statewide Financial System Update

The Committee was briefed on a significant change in the State’s accounting system. The Statewide Financial System is being undertaken to replace its 30 year old central accounting system. Department staff have been actively involved in the implementation and as a result the Department is well positioned for the implementation of the new system. The system is expected to go live on April 1.

New York State Single Audit

Senior staff from the accounting firm of KPMG presented the Committee members with the results of the 2010-11 New York State Single Audit for the State Education Department.  The Department received in excess of $6 billion in federal funds during the audit period. The required audit examined compliance with regulations as well as the adequacy of Department controls. There were seven audit findings. The findings were described by the auditors and Department staff discussed corrective actions that have been undertaken.   

Completed Audits

The Committee was presented with 13 audits this month.  The audits included ten audits issued by the Office of the State Comptroller (OSC) and three by the Comptroller of the City of New York.   The findings were in the areas of procurement, information technology, budgeting, financial reporting, compliance with fingerprinting requirements, Medicaid claiming, and oversight of the Tuition Assistance Program (TAP).

February 2012 Fiscal Report

Our Executive Deputy Commissioner briefed the Committee members. Two accounts that remain a concern are teacher tenure hearing and assessment. The cultural education account is now in structural balance on a current year basis; however, the account continues to carry a large accumulated deficit from prior years. 

March 20, 2012