Audit/Internal Controls

Internal Controls

OBFS coordinates with the Office of University Audits to create and promote policies and procedures providing adequate controls for the management of the University of Illinois System's business and assets.

Control Procedures

Internal control procedures are an integral part of financial and business processes at the system. Control procedures must:

• Safeguard system assets

• Check the accuracy and reliability of accounting data

• Promote operational efficiency and effectiveness

• Protect system personnel

• Ensure adherence to prescribed managerial policies

• Ensure compliance with applicable policies and regulations

• Comply with the State of Illinois Fiscal Control and Internal Auditing Act of 1989

All university administrators who develop, operate, and supervise financial systems are responsible for creating and implementing control procedures. All internal control procedures are subject to the review of the Executive Director of the Office of University Audits or his or her delegate.

Good internal control systems include several elements. First, organizational plans provide appropriate segregation of functional responsibilities. Second, authorization and record-keeping procedures give reasonable accounting control over assets, liabilities, revenues, expenses, and other changes in the balance of funds. Third, practices ensure a high degree of compliance with approved authorization and record-keeping procedure. Finally, employees have capabilities sufficient to execute their responsibilities.

Exception to Control Procedures

All internal controls should be balanced in the light of their economic utility, practicability, and protection of personnel. Where the cost of protection would far outweigh possible losses or where proposed controls would cause gross inefficiencies, such controls may not be feasible and other alternatives may be more advisable.

Review

Administrators and supervisors must constantly review internal control systems to assure:

• Prescribed policies are being interpreted properly and carried out accordingly

• Changes in operating conditions have not made the procedures cumbersome, obsolete, or inadequate

• Corrective measures are taken promptly when system breakdowns appear

Last Updated: July 17, 2018