Grambling State University has developed a plan of action in response to the scathing audit released last month by the Louisiana Legislative Auditor’s Office.
The action plan includes the audit findings, the university’s response to each finding, an outlined plan of action for the next six months and a timetable for turning each issue around, said GSU President Frank Pogue as he addressed The News-Star Editorial Board on Wednesday.
In the audit report released June 6, the university was cited for failing to compile an accurate annual fiscal report, failing to keep adequate control over capital assets, not actively pursuing the collection of money owed by students and employees, having unsecured deposits and weaknesses in cash controls and conducting business with other parties without obtaining written contracts.
Most of the findings were recurring offenses that the university had been cited for several times in previous years.
To help fix the recurring problems, GSU has reorganized its finance and administration departments by hiring people with necessary training and experience, including a controller, director of grants administration, director of general accounting and a payroll manager.
“One of the first things we had to do in developing a strategy was take an inventory of our professional staff,” said Leon Sanders, vice president for finance and administration at GSU. “In doing so, we determined a number of positions that were not filled with individuals who could provide the expertise, the training or the leadership that was necessary for the turnaround we needed.”
Sanders said the most essential hire was the new controller, Raymond Abraham, who has more than 25 years of experience working for the state Legislative Auditor’s Office and was part of the team of auditors who conducted the report on GSU.
“He was keenly aware of many of the situations that we were faced with,” he said. “He has only been there since October but has made remarkable improvements.”
Sanders said one of the biggest problems was the lack of continuity within the administration, adding that there have been four different controllers at the university over the past five years.
