Office of the Legislative Auditor - Financial Audit Division

Report Summary

Financial-Related Audit

Rainy River Community College

July 1, 1997, through June 30, 2000

Rainy River Community College made significant improvements in financial management areas since the last audit. The college separated duties to improve internal control over the local bank accounts, tuition and fees, and bookstore activities. In addition, the college consolidated most of its bank accounts and reconciled its financial activity in these accounts. The college operated within available financial resources and generally complied with applicable legal provisions and management's authorization. However, the college still needs to resolve some issues to improve its financial management systems.

Key Findings:

• Rainy River Community College did not perform periodic reconciliations of total financial activity between the MnSCU and MAPS accounting systems in fiscal year 2000. The Northeast Service Unit performed monthly reconciliations until June 1999. (Finding 1, page 6)
• The college did not reconcile the MnSCU accounting system general ledger accounts for federal financial aid for funds carried forward from fiscal year1999 to 2000. (Finding 2, page 14)
• The college did not prepare complete financial statements to monitor enterprise fund activities including student housing and the bookstore. (Finding 3, page 17)

Agency Response:

In its response, Rainy River Community College agreed with the report's findings and recommendations and is taking corrective action to resolve the issues.

Rainy River Community College is part of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities (MnSCU) System. This financial-related audit report represents the conclusions of our audit of the college's tuition and fees, payroll, operating expenditures, and bookstore operations for the period July 1, 1997, through June 30, 2000. We also reviewed the college's internal controls over compliance with federal student financial aid for fiscal year 2000. The college's response is included in the report.