Springfield Audit Trails The Institute of Internal Auditors Springfield Chapter Inside This Month s Newsletter October Training Page 2 UConn dept. head resigns after audit reveals improper expenses Page 3 2018 Fall Government Auditing Conference Page 4 From the Editor & Chapter Officials Page 5 from the Fall is here! And so is one of the signs of fall for the Internal Auditors in Central Illinois the annual State Internal Audit Advisory Board (SIAAB) Conference. Be sure to check out the Conference Brochure and IIA Training Schedule as October training will the last training provided locally for the 2018 calendar year. The Springfield Chapter became a Sapphire Chapter of the Institute of Internal Auditors in 2016. We have also attained Gold and Platinum awards every year from their inception. Sapphire, Platinum, Gold what does it all mean? The awards are based on points gained in the Chapter Achievement Program (CAP). Each IIA Chapter earns CAP points in three service categories: Service to Members Service to Profession Chapter Administration Every time you attend training or a volunteer does something on behalf of the Chapter, the Chapter earns CAP points. In other words, everyone in the Chapter has a hand in earning the Sapphire status. Currently, Sapphire is the highest award possible to be obtained by any chapter. What does this translate to? We have a great chapter that provides excellent training in the Springfield area. We also have volunteers who provide services for the profession and go out of their way to do so. For example, Alex Deal, this year s Chapter Second Vice President, organized a table at the UIS Career Fair to make students aware of the IIA National Organization and the Springfield Chapter. The Board has decided to offer student memberships this year at career fairs. That was one of the great ideas coming from another volunteer, Tad Huskey, our Chapter 2 nd Treasurer, and the cost is only $40 per student membership. I will report more about our Chapter outreach in the future as we are out and about. I hope you all (y all for those of you from the South) have a great fall! Look for our January issue for training and news about the upcoming new calendar year. 1
OCTOBER TRAINING Nikki Lanier, CPA, First Vice President Happy Fall, Chapter Members! October is a busy month with the annual State Internal Audit Advisory Board (SIAAB) conference on Tuesday and Wednesday, October 23 and 24 and an optional half day training presented by the Chapter on Thursday, October 25. In the October 24 SIAAB session, Mr. Dennis Dycus, CPA, CFE, CGFM, will be the featured speaker. He is a nationally renowned trainer, consultant, and public speaker. He will kick off the session with a segment on fraud and why auditors fail to properly detect it. The session will also cover the evaluation of internal controls, asset misappropriation by government employees, and a segment entitled Walkin, Talkin, Lookin, and Listenin. The optional IIA training will begin at 1 p.m. on October 25. The topic will be IT Audit Controls for Non-IT Auditors. This is a fantastic value priced at $40 for Members. I hope to see all of you at these great training opportunities! For more information on the trainings mentioned here and the web links for registration, see Page 4 of this month s Newsletter. Mr. Dennis Dycus, CPA, CFE, CGFM, will present four different sessions throughout Thursday, October 24 at the SIAAB Conference. Chapter Mailing Address Springfield Chapter Institute of Internal Auditors P.O. Box 205 Springfield, IL 62705-0205 2
UConn department head resigns after audit reveals improper travel expenses This article was originally printed in the Hartford Courant on September 11, 2018. It has been reprinted with permission. By Dave Altimari A University of Connecticut department head has resigned from the school after an audit showed he approved travel expenses and compensatory time of more than $100,000 for his administrative assistant to accompany him on trips to places including Dublin and South Korea over the past few years. Ram D. Gopal, a professor who was the head of the Operations and Information Management Department within the School of Business, was accused by UConn officials of having an inappropriate relationship with a subordinate and violating the school s travel policies by taking his administrative assistant on three trips and also padding her compensatory time in 2016 and 2017. The internal audit revealed that Gopal and his assistant, Melissa Burk, traveled to Dublin, Los Angeles, South Korea, and India between December 2016 and 2017 and improperly charged the university nearly $24,000, records show. The two employees charged the state for 10 extra work-related days while abroad when they were sightseeing, records show. In addition, Burk was paid for working 161 hours while abroad attending the conferences with Gopal. The audit found that Gopal and Burk approved each other s travel expense forms despite the fact he was her direct supervisor and that no one else within the School of Business saw the requests. UConn spokeswoman Stephanie Reitz said that Gopal resigned after UConn started the process to dismiss him. UConn referred the audit to the chief state s attorney s office but no criminal charges have been filed. Reitz said that during UConn s review, Gopal agreed to repay the university for the travel expenses that he and Burk incurred but she said Tuesday it is unclear if that has been done. He has been at UConn since 1993. Burk is still employed as an administrative assistant at UConn pending a review by human resources. The internal audit recommends that the school revise its travel policies and review how compensatory time is accrued and who within a department can sign off on a subordinate s comp time, but Reitz said school officials believe the proper policies are in place. UConn expects all of its employees to comply with university and state policies. When the university finds that any employee has failed to do so, it takes appropriate action, Reitz said in a statement Tuesday. The audit found that the department head violated existing UConn policies; this misconduct was not due to a lack of applicable policies. UConn officials received an anonymous complaint in December 2017 questioning business travel expenses charged to the school by Gopal and Burk. Auditors spent six months reviewing payroll records, time cards, travel expenses, and e-mails between the two. A review of Burk s time cards from September 2016 to April 2018 showed that she accrued 1,046 compensatory hours with none of the proper approvals. The audit concluded that since Burk was hired as a full-time employee in 2014 she was paid more than $90,000 in compensatory time or an average of nearly 40 hours a week in comp time. When asked about the large amount of comp time and whether there were any records to back up both responded that neither kept written records, according to the audit. The ongoing nature and volume of compensatory time accruals and payments coupled with the lack of any written documentation of the compensatory time eligible activities of the administrative assistant, indicates a significant lack of management oversight, the internal audit concluded. Auditors recommended several changes to how employees put in for comp time, including that the department head should approve compensatory activity logs for each bi-weekly pay period after reviewing written requests and a more thorough review of employees time cards should be done to check for conflicting time codes. 3
Registration is open for the 2018 Illinois Fall Government Auditing Conference! The Conference will be Tuesday & Wednesday, October 23 & 24 at the Northfield Inn & Suites Conference Center in Springfield. Attendance is $99 per attendee, which includes lunch on both days. Also, a stand-alone IT Audit Controls for non-it Auditors Seminar will be hosted by the Springfield IIA from 1 to 4 p.m. on Thursday, October 25. Attendance is $40 for Members and $55 for Non-Members. For More Information & the Conference Brochure, Visit https://siaab.audits.uillinois.edu/fall_conference/ Direct Registration @ http://www.eiseverywhere.com/2018-siaab-conference Registration for IT Audit Controls @ http://www.eiseverywhere.com/it-auditing-non-it Springfield Chapter of the Institute of Internal Auditors 2018-2019 Program Schedule You May Pay With a Credit Card Date Speaker Program Hours CPE Members Non- Members October 23-24, 2018 Various SIAAB Conference 8:30 4:30 14 $99 $99 October 25, 2018 Baker Tilly IT Audit Controls for 1:00 4:00 3 $40 $55 non-it Auditors January 24, 2018 State Disaster 12:23 4:15 4 $70 $85 Farm Recovery/Malware February 28, 2019 Chris Fraud 12:30 4:15 4 $70 $85 Trifiletti March 28, 2019 Danny TDB 8:30 4:15 7 $105 $130 Goldberg April 30, 2018 Ceciliana Agile Auditing or TDB 8:30 4:15 7 $105 $130 May 23, 2019 Phil Bertram Operational Auditing 12:30 4:15 4 $70 $85 Cancellations should be made at least 24 hours before the meeting to avoid a charge. Meetings will be held at the Northfield Center on Thursdays unless noted differently. 4
From the Editor lkaigh@atg.state.il.us As I was preparing to transition my career as an Audit Supervisor and Contract Manager at the Office of the Auditor General to the Deputy Chief Fiscal Officer at the Office of the Attorney General this summer, I was pleasantly surprised when I was approached concerning the Newsletter Editor position for the IIA Springfield Chapter. Before earning my degree and beginning work in State Government, I spent eight years working for weekly newspapers at two different publication companies in the Metro East region. I learned a lot about writing, editing, and graphic design during that time, and while I was excited to begin working in the field of my education, I was also sad to be leaving behind something that I genuinely enjoyed. I m so excited to be able to exert some of my design strength again, and I hope you enjoy what is to come. If anyone ever has suggestions, tips, or items of interest, please reach out to me at any time! Lisa Kaigh Chapter Officials 2018-2019 OFFICERS Satu.Allen@illinois.gov 558-2200 x 4159 Administration Jay Wagner, CIA, CFE, CISA 524-4094 Audit Sharon Bohac, CPA 524-1415 558-2200 x 4159 Nominating Nikki Lanier, CPA 785-6515 FIRST VICE Nikki.Lanier@illinois.gov Nikki Lanier, CPA 785-6515 Programs & Seminars Nikki Lanier, CPA 785-6515 Seminar Registration Sally Burton 558-2910 SECOND VICE Alex Deal, CGAP Academic Relations Carol Jessup, PhD, CPA, CFE 206-7923 Membership Margie Weiffenbach 782-2237 Certifications Program Alex Deal, CGAP 557-5419 SECRETARY Directory, Distribution, & Public Relations Sally Burton ADeal@illinoistreasurer.gov 557-5419 SBurton@isbe.net 558-2910 Sally Burton 558-2910 Newsletter Lisa Kaigh 557-3936 Photographer Cary Franks, MS, CISA 741-4410 Webmaster 5582200 x 4159 TREASURERS Amy DeWeese, CPA Amy.DeWeese@illinois.gov 558-6931 Tad Huskey, CPA, CGFM, CGAP THuskey@atg.state.il.us 785-8127 Historian Seeking Volunteer GOVERNORS Term Expiring: 2018 Bill Sampias, CISA, CFSA 785-5563 2018 Denise Behl, CIA 558-2701 2018 Amy Lyons 558-4347 2019 Stephen D. Kirk, CIA, CGAP 557-1258 2019 Lesslie D. Morgan, CIA, CPA, CGFM, CISA 524-1503 2019 Barbara Ringler, CPA 785-6515 2020 Rusti Cummings, CPA 557-5682 2020 M. Ameen Dada, CGFM 785-0165 2020 Tracy Allen, CPA, CISA 782-8691 PAST S Vacant 2017-2018 Leighann Manning, CGAP 558-0010 2016-2017 H. Jay Wagner, CIA, CFE, CISA 524-4094 The Board of Governors consists of all Officers, Governors, and the Past President. 5