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3 golden objects Minnesota Legislature

Office of the Legislative Auditor - Financial Audit Division

Report Summary


Financial-Related Audit

Minnesota State Colleges and Universities Office of the Chancellor

July 1, 1998, through June 30, 2001


Overall Conclusions:

The Office of the Chancellor's budgetary controls provided reasonable assurance that it operated within available resources. Except as noted below, the office's internal controls provided reasonable assurance that assets were safeguarded and financial activities were properly recorded in the accounting system. In addition, the office complied with applicable legal provisions for the items tested.

Key Findings:

  • The Office of the Chancellor did not timely reconcile its local bank account statement to the accounting system. We noted several instances where the office did not reconcile the bank account for three or four months between July 2000 and January 2002. In addition, the office did not resolve differences identified in the reconciliation process for the period February through May 2001 until June 2001. The office should reconcile the bank account to the MnSCU accounting system and resolve any differences on a timely basis.
  • The Office of the Chancellor did not adequately restrict certain computer security clearances. Six employees had access to either the purchasing or payment function, which did not relate to their duties. The Office of the Chancellor should monitor security profiles to ensure employee access is restricted to job responsibilities.
Agency Background:

The Minnesota State Colleges and Universities (MnSCU) is comprised of the 34 state universities, community colleges, and technical colleges and the Office of the Chancellor. Minn. Stat. Section 136F assigns the powers necessary to govern the state colleges and universities to the MnSCU Board of Trustees. The office employs staff to provide support to all colleges and universities within the system. James H. McCormick began his term as chancellor in July 2001.

The Office of the Chancellor is part of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities (MnSCU) system. This audit report focused on financial management, payroll expenditures, consultant contract and capital outlay expenditures, and other administrative expenditures for the period July 1, 1998, through June 30, 2001.

Office of the Legislative Auditor, Room 140, 658 Cedar St., St. Paul, MN 55155 : legislative.auditor@state.mn.us or 651‑296‑4708