New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli announced today the following audits have been issued:

City University of New York (CUNY): Administration of Fellowship Leaves (Follow-Up) (2015-F-5)

An initial audit issued in October 2013 examined whether the fellowship leaves granted to CUNY instructional staff were awarded for authorized purposes and in compliance with requirements. Auditors found that although most of the fellowship recipients reviewed complied with CUNY policy, improvements were needed. In a follow-up report, auditors found CUNY has made progress in addressing the issues identified in the initial report. Four recommendations were implemented, one was partially implemented, and one was not implemented.

City University of New York: Borough of Manhattan Community College (BMCC): Controls Over Bank Accounts (2015-S-93)

CUNY officials provided auditors with a list of 23 bank accounts that they were aware of at BMCC. Seven of the accounts were opened after CUNY’s bank authorization policy was established in 2008, but CUNY did not have the required notification forms for one. Auditors identified two accounts that were not on CUNY’s list. These findings point to weaknesses in the monitoring of bank accounts. Of 78 payments (totaling $3,136,579) paid from six selected bank accounts, 45 totaling $563,605 were either improper (did not comply with CUNY, state or city policies and procedures) or were unsupported.

New York State Insurance Fund (NYSIF): Examination of Outstanding Premiums (2016-SIF-01)

New York state businesses pay NYSIF premiums for workers compensation and disability insurance. If a policyholder stops making payments, NYSIF will cancel the policy and attempt to collect the amount owed. Some of the businesses with outstanding debt to NYSIF do business with New York. The Statewide Offset Program (SWOP) is a way for state agencies to offset payments to recover outstanding debt.  Auditors found NYSIF may have been able to recover up to $3.8 million in outstanding premiums from payments to New York state vendors from April 1, 2012 through May 2, 2016 if it had used SWOP.  

Office of Information Technology Services (OITS): Effectiveness of the Information Technology Transformation (2015-S-2)

There were significant deficiencies in planning the execution of the state’s technology transformation, with little or no evidence that many basic planning steps were performed. As a result, OITS had little data to quantify or measure what benefits, if any, the transformation has brought about thus far. Moreover, these deficiencies significantly limited OITS’ ability to maintain continuity and meet established goals, especially in an era of recurring turnover among top-level OITS executives.

State Education Department (SED): Oversight of School Fire Safety Compliance (2015-S-86)

Auditors found SED does not adequately monitor whether schools are in compliance with all fire safety regulations and accurately report all violations. Visits to 25 schools found many did not complete the required number of fire drills, and emergency evacuation plans at six schools did not include procedures to address evacuation of students who have disabilities or special needs. Additionally, auditors observed several violations and deficiencies, including: electrical hazards such as overloaded power strips and extension cords; missing or outdated fire extinguishers; partially obstructed means of egress; and violations cited in prior inspections that had not been corrected.

State Education Department and Department of Health (DOH): Oversight of Student Immunization in Schools (2015-S-85)

DOH and SED have both provided appropriate assistance to schools to guide their immunization programs. Immunization rates across the state are generally above standards established to limit the risk of a serious outbreak. However, some counties have high exemption rates, most notably Yates and Montgomery. Also, schools in four other counties (Allegany, Columbia, Rockland, and Ulster) had immunization rates of 94 percent, just short of the 95 percent target. There are pockets of at-risk populations that are more likely to have low immunization rates. This is particularly evident at private schools and schools with proportionally larger international and migrant student populations.