Office of the Legislative Auditor - Financial Audit Division

Report Summary

Ridgewater College

July 1, 2000, through June 30, 2003

Ridgewater College operated within available resources and complied with applicable legal provisions and management's authorization. The college completed reconciliations to ensure that it accurately recorded its financial activities in the accounting records. The college's internal controls provided reasonable assurance that it adequately safeguarded state treasury and local bank account financial activities and complied with applicable legal provisions and management's authorization. The college's internal controls provided reasonable assurance that it properly authorized and accurately recorded employee payroll expenditures and bookstore revenues and expenses in the accounting records.

The college resolved most of the issues discussed in the previous audit report. However, the college could improve its operations in several areas.

Key Findings:

• The college did not maintain its monitoring of the propriety of administrative adjustments to tuition receivable records. Without monitoring these transactions, the risk of errors or irregularities going undetected is unacceptably high. We recommended that the college review these administrative adjustments to ensure propriety.
• The college did not evaluate Willmar faculty in a timely manner as required by statute. After a probationary period, faculty evaluations were informal and undocumented. Statutes require annual evaluations as a basis for compensation. We recommended that the college ensure that all employees receive performance evaluations consistent with Minnesota statutes and compensation plans. We also recommended that the college work with the Office of the Chancellor to establish guidelines for evaluation of faculty performance.
• The college did not always timely pay bookstore invoices and lost available discounts. We recommended that the Hutchinson bookstore promptly submit invoices to the business office for payment.

Ridgewater College is a part of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities (MnSCU) system. This audit report presents the conclusions of our audit of the college's tuition and fees, payroll, administrative expenditures, state grants, and the bookstore for the period July 1, 2000, through June 30, 2003. The college's response is included in this report.