Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Higher Ed Finance Audit topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Joint Budget Committee presses executive branch after KPMG review of Department of Higher Education finances
Summary
JBC staff and the governor’s budget office told the committee they’d contracted KPMG for a deep review of Department of Higher Education financial processes after continuing problems with grant roll‑forward, late closeouts and single‑audit findings. Staff urged prompt implementation of recommendations and possible structural or statutory fixes.
Joint Budget Committee staff told members on June 10 that follow‑up work is underway to address persistent financial control problems at the Colorado Department of Higher Education (CDHE) after audits and multiple supplemental requests revealed repeated errors and weak internal controls.
What happened: JBC staff member Llewellyn Lowe and Amanda Bickel told the committee they were made aware last week that the governor’s office had expanded an existing KPMG engagement (originally supporting federal ARPA administration) to perform a deeper assessment of CDHE’s finance, grants and contract processes. KPMG’s work began in January and has since been extended to examine broader financial policy and practice at CDHE, JBC staff said.
Why the committee was briefed: CDHE has several recent interim supplemental requests and a history of problems with roll‑forward authority, incorrect payments to institutions and deficient audit findings. JBC staff said those issues — including a late closeout of the 2023–24 state books tied to missing entries from CDHE — prompted the deeper review and an urgent need for transparency to the Legislature.
Executive‑branch response: Mark Ferrandino, director of the Governor’s Office of State Planning and Budgeting, described rapid steps to stabilize CDHE: KPMG was asked to produce standard operating procedures, templates and a staffing‑plan, and the governor’s office has added near‑term contractor support to help with year‑end closeout activities. Ferrandino said CDHE has hired a chief financial officer and is recruiting a controller and budget director; he added the administration is exploring whether some back‑office functions should be centralized across agencies to provide more redundancy and expertise.
Staff concerns and next steps: JBC staff described the situation as “extraordinary,” noting that the state controller’s office had to step in because CDHE did not have staff available to post basic accounting entries. Amanda Bickel told the committee the state auditor issued a significant deficiency finding that appears to have followed those operational failures. Committee members pressed for quick delivery of KPMG’s final recommendations and for the state controller and chief of staff to be available for follow‑up questions. Bickel said staff expects the KPMG final report soon and urged the committee to hold the administration accountable for implementing fixes and, if necessary, pursuing statutory or structural changes.
Quote from staff: “I do think the executive branch is taking it seriously,” Bickel told members, but she said the depth of the weaknesses “led us to ask the executive branch to come and talk to you today on virtually no notice because this is an extraordinary situation.”
What the committee asked for: Members requested a briefing on KPMG’s recommendations when available, and asked the administration to bring the state controller’s office and relevant chief staff to a future meeting so the committee could assess whether statutory or organizational changes are needed.
Ending: The committee did not take a formal action at the briefing but directed staff and the administration to return with a clear, implementable plan and periodic status reports until the department’s processes are rebuilt.
