Texas State Auditor
SAO: Reports:
An Audit Report on Textbook Inventory Accountability at the Texas Education Agency
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John Keel, CPA Texas State Auditor SAO: Reports: An Audit Report on Textbook Inventory Accountability at the Texas Education Agency |
March 2007
Report Number 07-019
The Texas Education Agency (Agency) should improve controls to ensure that charter schools and school districts (schools) submit accurate, complete, and timely information regarding textbook inventories into the Educational Materials and Textbook (EMAT) system to prevent the unnecessary purchase of textbooks from textbook depositories. Currently, the EMAT system contains inaccurate and incomplete information about schools' surplus textbook inventories and student enrollment counts, resulting in schools accumulating textbook inventories that exceed the Agency's established textbook surplus quotas. Auditors estimate that the surplus textbook inventory reported in the EMAT system (as of December 2006) is understated by approximately 415,521 textbooks valued at $18 million.
Although the Agency should improve controls associated with reporting surplus textbook inventories and student enrollment data into the EMAT system, auditors determined that it has implemented processes and controls to strengthen schools' compliance with its textbook purchasing rules and guidelines. However, the effectiveness of these processes and controls is limited by the accuracy, completeness, and timeliness of surplus textbook and enrollment data self-reported by schools to the EMAT system.
Additionally, the Agency does not sufficiently manage EMAT access and security controls. Auditors identified multiple weaknesses in the Agency's management of the EMAT system's user accounts. Without restricting access to the EMAT system, there is a risk of inappropriate modification or deletion of EMAT system data.
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