Summary

The scope of this audit included an examination of the financial statements of the University, a component unit of the State of Florida, and a determination as to whether management has complied with applicable laws, administrative rules, regulations, contracts, and grants that are material to the financial statements. An examination of Federal awards administered by the University is included in our Statewide audit of Federal awards administered by the State of Florida.

The following provides a summary of the findings of our audit of the financial statements of the University:

• We found that the University's financial statements presented fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the University and its aggregate discretely presented component units as of June 30, 2003; the revenues, expenses, and changes in net assets; and the cash flows for the fiscalyear then ended.

• The results of our tests disclosed no instances of noncompliance that are required to be reported under Government Auditing Standards.

• We noted certain matters involving the University's internal control over financial reporting and its operation that we considered to be material weaknesses, as follows:

  • The University’s financial statements contained numerous errors, were out of balance, and were untimely submitted. 

  • Bank accounts had not been adequately or timely reconciled for several months of the 2002-03 fiscal year.  Two bank accounts listed unresolved reconciling items in excess of $750,000.

  • Amounts owed to and by the University were misstated in several instances, with one misstatement amounting to $7.8 million.

  • The amount reported for net assets as of June 30, 2003, on the statement of net assets was $1.8 million less than net assets reported on the statement of revenues, expenses and changes in net assets, and the University was unable to identify the cause of the difference.

  • The balance reported at June 30, 2003, as bonded debt payable was the same balance reported at June 30, 2002, even though the University incurred $750,000 of activity in this account for the 2002-03 fiscal year. 

  • The University reassigned and terminated employees that previously had prepared the financial statements for the University. No formal training of new and existing staff was performed to provide adequate training and experience in areas such as bank reconciliations and financial statements preparation.

We expanded our audit procedures to determine the adjustments to account balances and related note disclosures necessary for fair presentation of the University’s financial statements. Adjustments were accepted by the University to properly report account balances and related note disclosures in the accompanying financial statements. Additional matters related to compliance and operations at the University will be the subject of a separate operational audit.