Other Audit Activities

Investigations

The Office of Internal Audit performs investigations into allegations of waste or abuse received via the System’s fraud reporting hotline, as well as allegations received through the State Auditor’s Office, and/or other sources.

Due to the special nature of investigations, management is informed about their nature and our related activities on a strictly “need to know” basis. All employees are required to provide information requested by auditors performing such investigations and must maintain confidentiality as requested by the auditor. In addition, we may require employees interviewed to sign attestations regarding the testimony provided and a confidentiality form.

The following is an excerpt from the TSUS Rules & Regulations:

^{Fraud Reviews and Internal Investigations of Suspected Defalcation, Misappropriation, and Other Fiscal Irregularities. The Board of Regents has established an Anti-Fraud Policy in Chapter VIII, Paragraph 1 of these Rules and Regulations. The System Director is charged with responsibility for coordinating review and investigative activities as necessary with Component-housed Directors, Component police departments, the Office of Vice Chancellor and General Counsel, human resource Office(s), and appropriate external law enforcement and other oversight agencies. The System Director will make every reasonable and lawful effort to protect the rights and the reputations of those involved in an internal audit review involving allegations of fraud, including the employee/complainant who reports alleged fraud; the individual(s) interviewed during the resultant review; and the individual(s)/entity(ies) against whom the allegations were made.}

 

_{Fraud review results are not routinely disclosed or discussed with anyone other than those who have a legitimate need to know. In the event that a review substantiates fraudulent activities, the System Director or his/her designee will prepare and distribute a report in accordance with Paragraph 7.93 of this Chapter. The System Director will communicate substantiated fraud committed by System employees to the State Auditor’s Office in accordance with Texas Government Code §321.022.}

Audit Coordination

The Component Audit Director, Office of Internal Audit, maintains an overview of all audit activities at the institution. The Component Audit Director interfaces with outside agencies, such as the State Auditor’s Office. He/she should be kept informed about all audit activities on campus and should be provided with copies of all audit reports.

In the event that agencies, such as the State Auditor’s Office, notify component management about upcoming audits or send draft or final audit reports to components, recipients are requested to provide copies to the Component Audit Director, unless the agency has already included the director on the copy list.

Consulting Services

Consulting services are advisory in nature and are generally performed at the specific request of management—the objectives and types of work performed will be collaboratively determined with management. Examples include:

• Reviewing client-prepared responses to external audit reports;
• Training on fraud prevention, internal controls, and risk assessment processes;
• Analyzing client or third-party prepared data; and
• Scribing client-facilitated risk assessment exercises.

The way in which such services are performed is generally agreed with management before work starts, although the process often follows that described elsewhere on this website for Audits.

In an effort to continually improve our service to management and to the Components, we may also request completion of a customer satisfaction survey upon completion of consulting services engagements.