- News Release
NEWS RELEASE
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada … Auditor General Doug Wylie issued his 2018 report on post-secondary institutions on August 7 noting which institutions have effective financial processes and reporting, and where improvement is needed.
The report shows 19 of Alberta’s 20 public post-secondary institutions have adequate systems for accurate and timely financial reporting. For the third year in a row, Keyano College’s processes to prepare its annual financial statements require significant improvement.
This year’s audits of the post-secondary institutions with a June 30 fiscal year-end resulted in one new recommendation to Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (SAIT). The Auditor General also issued a recommendation to the University of Calgary, which has a March 31 fiscal year-end, in the Report of the Auditor General November 2018.
“Based on our audit finding that numerous former SAIT employees still had active network user privileges, we recommend that the institution needs to improve its network access controls for terminated employees,” Wylie said. “While management inspected the accounts of former employees and determined that none had been accessed within the past year, without a process or control to remove these accounts, there is a risk of unauthorized access to SAIT’s systems.”
In total, eight institutions have outstanding recommendations. Of those, four institutions — Alberta University of the Arts, Athabasca University, Northern Lakes College and Olds College —have outstanding recommendations which are now ready for follow-up audit.
In addition to the post-secondary institution report, Wylie also released an audit report on the third year of rotational audits to verify that the expenses of the premier, ministers, associate ministers and their staff are in compliance with both established directives and policies and the Treasury Board Committee oversight process.
The audit, conducted in 2018, determined that in the time period all of the departments examined — Agriculture and Forestry; Economic Development and Trade; Environment and Parks; Infrastructure; Justice and Solicitor General; Municipal Affairs; and Transportation — had effective processes in place.
This report completes the first round of rotational audits initiated in 2016 under which the Auditor General audits each department once every three years. A new round of rotational audits of the premier’s and minister’s office expenses will begin in fall 2019.
Both the Report on Post-secondary Institutions 2018 and the Travel, Meal and Hospitality Expenses for the Premier, Ministers and Their Staff are available at www.oag.ab.ca.
Appointed under Alberta’s Auditor General Act, the Auditor General is the legislated auditor of every provincial ministry, department, public post-secondary institution, and most provincial agencies, boards, commissions, and regulated funds. The audits conducted by the Office of the Auditor General report on how government is managing its responsibilities and the province’s resources. Through our audit reports, we provide independent assurance to the 87 Members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta, and the people of Alberta, that public money is spent properly and provides value.
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For more information, please contact:
Val Mellesmoen, Executive Director, Stakeholder Engagement
Telephone: 780.644.4806 | Mobile: 780.909.5841 | Email: vmellesmoen@oag.ab.ca
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