An Audit Report on Financial Systems at the Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired
July 2005
Report Number 05-043
Overall Conclusion
The Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired (School) is doing a reasonable job of protecting state assets and providing accurate financial information, considering that it has a limited number of accounting and budgeting staff who work with outdated automated systems. However, there is room for improvement.
The School needs to improve its policies and procedures in the areas of financial planning, budgeting, and expenditure monitoring. Specifically, the School does not have formal, documented policies in the areas of financial planning and expenditure monitoring, and the policies it does have for budgeting do not contain sufficient detail and are not consistently enforced. In addition, the School should ensure that it adheres to applicable laws regarding its accounting processes.
The School should take steps to ensure the protection of its financial information. For example, the School has not cross-trained its employees to ensure the continuity of financial operations when accounting staff members retire or otherwise terminate their employment with the School.
In addition, several aspects of the School's accounting functions are processed using older, outdated automated systems that have limited functionality. This results in significant delays in obtaining information for reporting and analysis purposes, such as preparing departmental budgets. The School has explored the possibility of updating its automated systems, but it has had to devote its financial resources to other projects.
Furthermore, the School is currently facing significant challenges due to its growing and changing student population. To supplement its state appropriations, the School plans to create a position to research and apply for grants from private corporations. General Appropriations Act Rider 24 (Payments to Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired and Texas School for the Deaf) was approved by the 79th Legislature and would allow the School to apply for state and federal discretionary funding included in the Texas Education Agency's appropriations.
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