Aug 18, 2023

The Educause report also revealed an increasing need for data security and a growing focus on improving institutional resilience within higher education. As a result, now is the time for higher education institutions to embrace the Great Recalibration and strengthen their internal controls – thereby mitigating risk and increasing efficiency during turnover. To effectively strengthen internal controls, higher education institutions should consider the following: Principles of internal controls Internal controls are the policies and processes that have been put in place by an organization to ensure the integrity of financial information and prevent fraud. A good internal control system should have two different types of control activities – preventative and detective. Preventative controls aim to deter errors or fraud from happening, while detective controls aim to identify and correct errors or fraud after they have occurred. Protecting internal controls Before Turnover Prior to turnover, it is imperative that institutions have well-documented systems and processes in place. This includes documenting each employee’s role, responsibilities, daily tasks and the systems they have access to, as well as establishing each employee’s role for initiating, reviewing and approving accounting functions. Additionally, organizations should strive to create a culture of development and advancement. This involves consistently providing opportunities for employees to take on additional responsibilities and introducing employees to new individuals and tasks. This helps ensure no one individual has too much power or responsibility within an organization – thereby leaving an un-fillable gap in their absence. During Turnover As turnover is occurring, institutions must work to document role responsibilities and transfer employee knowledge. When doing so, it is important to consider not just day-to-day activities but also any recurring projects, such as preparation for an audit or completion of Form 990. Another consideration during turnover is restricting the individual’s access to bank/investment accounts, accounting systems and buildings. After Turnover Following the exit of an employee, institutions should review the segregation of duties and identify any potential gaps or overlapping responsibilities – ensuring to separate authorization, custody and recordkeeping. Once an individual has been hired to replace the previous employee, institutions should provide comprehensive training and onboarding programs for new employees, particularly focusing on internal controls and compliance requirements. Additionally, during periods of turnover, institutions should consider increasing supervision and oversight of key processes and activities. This ensures that controls are being followed correctly and any potential issues or errors are detected and addressed in a timely manner. Communication and transparency are also key. Institutions should encourage employees to report any concerns or potential control deficiencies promptly and promote a culture of transparency and accountability to facilitate effective internal control practices. Lastly, institutions should update control documentation and procedures as needed to reflect any organizational or personnel changes. Evaluating and improving internal controls After internal controls have been established and are in effect, higher education institutions should conduct periodic assessments of internal controls to identify areas that require improvement or adjustments due to turnover or changes in the business environment. This process should include learning what a strong internal control environment looks like; interviewing management, employees and governance; observing processes; process mapping; reviewing policies and procedures; identifying monitoring controls; understanding accounting systems and controls; reviewing historical operational and financial performance indicators; and analyzing and assessing any learnings. Once internal controls have been reviewed, institutions should consider opportunities to improve these controls for greater institutional resiliency. This might include identifying value adding and non-value adding activities and determining if there is an opportunity to increase the efficiency of non-value adding activities through automation and outsourcing. Through understanding, evaluating and strengthening their internal controls, higher education institutions can better mitigate risk and increase efficiency in the transaction process during periods of high turnover within their organization. Jonathan Miller is a CPA and partner with The Bonadio Group’s Healthcare/Tax Exempt Team. In this role, Jonathan oversees financial statement audits of his team’s clients. He is also involved in a variety of consulting engagements, including financial due diligence and forecasting, project management and advisory services, operational audits, business planning and board governance. Share this: By signing up you agree to our