Trustees told bank reconciliations, Title IV findings remain outstanding as auditors press for fixes

At the Tennessee State University Board of Trustees audit committee meeting Sept. 18, university audit leaders reported several unresolved federal findings from the 2024 single audit and described a plan to get monthly bank reconciliations current by late October.

The committee heard that the 2024 single audit includes four repeat findings related to student financial aid and Title IV refunding and reporting: direct loan reconciliation to servicer records, Title IV credit refund procedures, timely reporting of student enrollment for the Federal Direct Loan/TEACH/return-to-title‑IV calculations, and other Title IV return issues. Doctor Forbes Williams, internal audit, said the findings remain “not corrected” though improvements and revised procedures are in testing.

The committee’s focus then shifted to bank reconciliations, which Bradley White, interim finance executive, called the highest-risk outstanding issue. White said reconciling payments received through third‑party portals (TouchNet and Flywire) with bank deposits was the main bottleneck: “A single bank deposit can represent dozens of student payments, and mapping the pieces to the bank deposit required manual work and scripting.” He told trustees his team had caught up through June and expected to complete July–October reconciliations by the end of October with additional contract staff being onboarded from TBR.

White said TBR was providing five temporary staff; one had already started and the other four were scheduled to begin between Sept. 29 and mid‑October. He estimated that with those supplemental resources the unit could be current through Oct. 31 by the November board meeting. President Brian K. Tucker repeated the administration’s commitment: “When we come back to the November meeting, you’ll be up to date on bank reconciliation.”

Committee members pressed for detail on resources and timelines. Trustee Qualls asked whether the reconciliation backlog would appear across two fiscal audits; White said yes. Trustees also asked for a list showing who is responsible for each outstanding audit action; the committee requested a responsibility chart linking each audit finding to a named responsible official and the current status.

Audit staff described other audit work in progress: an external gap assessment for the internal audit function (QAR readiness for an IIA external review), procurement-card internal controls audits, and follow up on accounts payable, payroll, travel and cash collections with an external firm (M&A Group) contributing 731 hours. The committee voted to approve an updated internal audit plan after returning from executive session.

Why it matters: unresolved Title IV findings can affect institutional eligibility for federal student aid and attract state reporting requirements; unreconciled cash increases financial and compliance risk. Trustees directed administrators to provide clearer responsibility assignments and to report progress to the full board and state contacts.

Discussion vs. decision: the session was informational for the single-audit and reconciliation status; trustees approved an updated internal audit plan (formal action recorded after executive session). Committee members asked for follow‑up documentation and a timetable for completing reconciliations and correcting single-audit items.