The Tennessee State University audit committee on Nov. 20 received a detailed briefing on the Division of State Audit’s 2023 financial and compliance audit; Dr. Forbes Williams summarized 15 findings and the status of corrective actions.

Williams said internal review found that several audit findings remained unresolved. Among the findings still marked as not corrected were: management oversight weaknesses that allowed control breakdowns; bank reconciliations not prepared or reviewed timely; ledger, grants and subledger reconciliation problems; HEERF (federal pandemic relief) compliance issues; and multiple Title IV (federal student-aid) reporting and refunding problems. Williams said the university had made some progress in areas such as accounts receivable collections and had recently hired a controller (began Nov. 10) and that a new director of compliance in financial aid had been appointed.

When asked about timing and consequences, Williams said the state does not grant additional time to resolve findings; the Division of State Audit performs routine follow-up and the next audit (for FY2025) was scheduled to begin soon. Trustees discussed staffing, governance and next steps to address control gaps; several trustees emphasized culture and the need for enterprise risk-management and quality-assurance measures.

The committee also reviewed a gap assessment prepared by an external firm to evaluate internal audit against professional standards and discussed recommended action steps (update charters, formalize quality-assurance programs, provide board education and improve risk coordination). The committee voted to move into executive session to address confidential matters.

No vote was required for the informational audit report; trustees recorded concerns about timeliness of corrective measures and asked administration and internal audit to accelerate remediation efforts.