During the Jun. 16 meeting of the Navajo County Community College District Governing Board, Northland Pioneer College (NPC) reviewed the results of their annual financial and single audit report performed by the Arizona Auditor General. Staff members from the Auditor General’s office were on hand to answer questions and discuss results. Director Jay Zsorey and Manager David Glennon both took the floor to summarize the information contained in the report.
The annual audit report was for the year ending June 30, 2017. The financial statements reviewed in the audit were found to be accurate. The Auditors Office conducted tests to assure that the college district’s basic financial statements were free from misstatement. These tests made sure that there was compliance to laws, regulations, contracts and grant agreements. The report states, “The results of our tests disclosed no instances of noncompliance or other matters that are required to be reported under Government Auditing Standards.”
The audit performed reviews of all cash flow, revenues and the financial position of NPC.
Although the financial records were found to be accurate there were findings related to Information Technology (IT) that need to be addressed. IT safety is critical in keeping student information secure, payment information secure and ensuring that as students interact with the college via the Internet that it is a safe and secure interaction. “The world of information technology continues to evolve at a pretty rapid pace. Now with that, we change our processes to keep up with the changes and how we audit,” said Director Zsorey.
This audit revealed four areas of weakness related to IT that the college would need to address.
The report stated, “The district’s IT resources, which include its systems, network, infrastructure and data are vital to its daily operations. However, the district did not have adequate policies and procedures over its IT resources to effectively identify, analyze, and respond to risks and protect sensitive information; sufficiently manage access, including preventing, detecting and responding to unauthorized or inappropriate access or use, manipulation, damage, or loss; and ensure IT resources are configured securely.”
NPC Chief Information Officer PJ Way said, “This evaluation certainly helps us identify what we can do as policies and procedures.”
In comparison, the previous audit that was performed had no findings or recommendation of items that were needed to be addressed. It was pointed out that often in the audit process different areas may be focused on from year to year.
