(The Center Square) – LSU Shreveport’s official accounting system understates the university’s cash balance by approximately $1.3 million as a bank reconciliation problem continues for a fourth consecutive audit engagement, according to the Louisiana Legislative Auditor.
The finding was included in a procedural report issued Aug. 12 covering the period from July 1, 2024, through June 30.
Auditors found LSUS uses Workday as its accounting system of record but reconciles bank statements using a separate system, Integrow. There is no complete reconciliation between the two systems.
“Failure to properly prepare bank reconciliations increases the risk that errors and/or fraud could occur and not be detected in a timely manner and increases the risk of inaccurate financial reporting,” auditors wrote.
The problem has persisted despite efforts to clear older discrepancies.
During the previous audit engagement, auditors found an unexplained $167,800 difference between LSUS’ bank balance and its Integrow cash balance, along with numerous unreconciled transactions dating to before January 2022.
LSUS management told auditors at the time that it believed most of the older transactions offset one another but lacked enough information to match and clear them individually. Management said it had exhausted its efforts to identify the transactions and planned to make an accounting adjustment.
In June 2024, LSUS posted a $625,510 adjustment reducing cash in both Integrow and Workday. The adjustment included $457,710 in net reconciling items and the unexplained $167,800 variance.
The adjustment, however, did not reconcile the bank balance with Workday or Integrow with Workday.
When auditors requested a reconciliation between the two accounting systems during the latest review, LSUS provided one showing that its cash balance in Workday was understated by approximately $1.3 million.
Auditors recommended that management use its accounting system of record when preparing bank reconciliations and making adjustments to ensure accurate financial reporting.
LSUS agreed with the finding but said it has identified the data responsible for the $1.3 million variance and believes the discrepancy stems from older accounting data rather than current operations.
“Corrective actions are underway to resolve these historical discrepancies,” LSUS management said in its response.
The university said it has established controls to verify transactions are accurately transferred from Integrow to Workday. Management also said it is confident its current controls mitigate the risk of misappropriation.
Associate Vice Chancellor for Finance Veronica Crabtree was identified as the official responsible for the corrective action. LSUS listed July 1 as the implementation date.
The report also found LSUS had corrected two other issues identified in its December 2024 procedural report: noncompliance with timekeeping record requirements and theft of cash received by the Athletics Department.
The bank reconciliation issue was the only previous finding auditors determined had not been resolved.
The Legislative Auditor’s review was narrower than an audit conducted under Government Auditing Standards. Auditors did not audit or review LSUS’ annual fiscal reports and did not issue an opinion on the university’s overall internal controls or compliance.
