UNLV officials question critical auditor’s report

Debra D. Bass

Wednesday, Jan. 22, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.

University officials say lack of staff, rather than incompetence, is what led to an audit report stating that millions of dollars have been mishandled.

Officials with UNLV and the University and Community College System say more staff is needed to correct the accounting problems.

Board of Regents' committee members met Tuesday to review the critical audit prepared by the accounting firm Coopers and Lybrand. The Board of Regents will meet in full Jan. 30 and 31 to review responses proposed by the committee members.

Chancellor Richard Jarvis said "it clearly is correct" that financial controls within the university system "contain significant weaknesses" as stated in the auditor's report.

He took exception, however, to the auditor's statement that, "Little assurance can be given that funds are spent on priorities set by the Legislature and the Board of Regents."

Jarvis argued that the money is serving intended needs.

The audit yielded 10 recommendations for the system, of which nine have been accepted. Jarvis balked at the suggestion that a reporting system be replaced rather than improved. Most of the other recommendations involve developing a uniform system of gathering and reporting data and instituting proper oversight.

Jarvis said such proposals will require more employees and, probably, a substantial software investment.

Auditors proposed more than 30 adjustments to UNLV's 1995-96 financial records, affecting more than $50 million.

A $10 million error was made in calculating the depreciation of university equipment, auditors found. A $6 million error occurred because a figure appeared in two separate entries. A $7.1 million figure was withdrawn from the 1994-95 financial record, but financial officers failed to add the funds into the 1995-96 budget report.

"The errors and omissions are the result of a combination of many factors, including errors by individuals in preparation of information and insufficient supervisory review of such information," auditors said.

Twenty recommendations were made to improve accounting at UNLV and all but one were agreed upon by the university. UNLV's vice president for budget and finance, Norval Pohl, agreed that the current system "has the potential to be misleading." He said many of the glitches were inherited from the previous administration.