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Staff report fixes after FY24 single audit found one verification error and NSLDS reporting gaps; payroll audit finds classification issues
Summary
Vermont State Colleges staff told the Audit and Risk Management Committee that the FY24 single audit identified a verification lapse for one student and reporting gaps to NSLDS, and that an internal audit found payroll classification inconsistencies.
Vermont State Colleges staff told the Audit and Risk Management Committee that work is underway to address findings from the FY24 single audit and from a FY24 internal audit of payroll stipends and one-time payments.
Toby Stewart summarized the single audit findings: in a sample of 40 students, one student received federal aid before required verification was completed, and the audit noted weaknesses in reporting student status changes to the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS). Stewart said the verification lapse occurred during the merger of the system's legacy institutions and that unified procedures and training have been implemented to prevent a recurrence.
"The first finding was related to the required verification product, process for students identified by the federal government's processor, before their aid can be dispersed," Stewart said. He added that the registrar is monitoring students who reenrolled after leaves of absence or who have not enrolled since the merger and is updating records in the clearinghouse and NSLDS as needed.
On the FY24 internal audit of recurring payroll stipends and one-time payments, staff reported several recommendations and identified inconsistencies in how payments were classified. Stewart said the team is correcting errors in pay groups and employment-type coding and is preparing training for human resources and managers. "In 2 weeks, there will be training to human resources and generalists and managers regarding FLSA obligations. Supervisor training will follow," Stewart said.
When asked whether staff could quantify the number of payroll classification errors, Mary Brodsky said she could not give a number immediately but explained the scope of the classification work: defining payment categories, ensuring that lump-sum payments are not improperly applied to hourly (FLSA nonexempt) employees, and fixing existing data inconsistencies.
"I don't know that I can quantify the number of errors necessarily, but I can give you a little bit more context for what we're talking about when we're saying classification," Brodsky said.
Stewart also said the Workday ERP will eventually replace many of the manual processes for initiating extra payments. Committee members received the written audit updates in their meeting materials and were told staff will continue implementing corrective actions and trainings to address the findings.
No committee action was required for the audit updates; the committee received the reports and asked for continued progress updates.
