Norfolk State University has made three hires in its finance and administration department and will continue training employees in accounting to help address concerns raised recently by the state’s auditor of public accounts.
The auditor, Walter J. Kucharksi, stated in a letter to the university earlier this month that his department could not complete its audit for the fiscal year ending June 2011 because of “material weaknesses” in the school’s internal controls.
The letter said many of the problems were caused by significant turnover and extended vacancies in key positions, such as controller, at the university.
Several of the problems centered on a new accounting system implemented last summer. The auditor said the school did not provide enough training for employees and management to monitor the process.
Gregory Davis, NSU’s interim vice president for finance and administration, said Thursday that all of the problems are “solvable” and that the university is on its way to doing so.
The concerns, he said, dealt primarily with internal processes, such as producing financial statements for audits and management purposes, and did not affect issuing paychecks or paying bills.
“It comes down to this: We didn’t have people in place, and some of these can be predicted if you don’t have people in place,” said Davis, who started on March 1. Read Full
