NCSU Praised by Auditor

N.C. State University has successfully avoided major problems with misuse of state procurement cards, State Auditor Les Merritt said today.

The auditor, who recently issued a string of blistering audits of UNC-Greensboro, N.C. Agricultural and Technical State University and Fayetteville State University, had praise for NCSU in a news release.

A review of spending card use found that NCSU's internal controls had prevented most improper charges. The review said two NCSU employees had used the cards for their own personal expenses, but the university had already detected the improper use, collected reimbursements from both workers and dismissed one of them.

"NC State should be recognized for proactively installing proper internal controls that detected the waste of State resources and recollected that money for the public’s use," Merritt said in the release.

NCSU had a total of 85,263 procurement card transactions worth $23 million, the review said.

The review is the first in a series of examinations of card use among universities and state agencies.