OLDS — The Olds College of Agriculture & Technology is behind on six recommendations made by the office of Doug Wylie, auditor general of Alberta, in its latest report on post-secondary institutions.
Those six recommendations are in regard to financial reporting and operational processes and controls.
However, the report, issued in March, also says some progress has been made.
“Olds College was able to complete more accurate financial reporting in less time than in 2023. The college has begun to make improvements to its financial reporting process and controls, but significant improvement is still required.”
One recommendation dates all the way back to December, 2019.
“We recommend that Olds College test and monitor the effectiveness of its internal controls to ensure key risks are mitigated," it said.
“Without effective internal controls, institutions increase exposure to financial errors, financial loss, and reputational damage. The board of governors may not get the information from management it requires to exercise proper oversight,” the recommendation said.
Another recommendation dates back to March 2021.
“We again recommend that Olds College improve its financial reporting processes to:
• provide sufficient update training to staff of public sector accounting standards
• ensure proper management oversight of the preparation of consolidated financial statements.
“Without effective financial reporting processes, there is a higher risk of financial reporting errors.”
The remaining four recommendations the auditor general’s office says remain outstanding were issued last November.
It was recommended that Olds College improve its process to record endowment and non-endowment investments.
“Without effective processes to track, reconcile and record portfolio investment activities, management and the board will lack accurate information on whether portfolio investments meet required funding conditions and investment objectives, and provide sufficient liquidity for the college’s operation,” the recommendation said.
A second recommendation issued last November was for the college to improve its process to record revenue from funding with conditions.
“Without accurate and complete information to monitor activities related to conditional grants, the college may breach funding conditions requiring repayment back to funders. This may affect future contributions from those funders,” the recommendation said.
A third called on the college to “regularly reconcile cash accounts and investigate differences promptly.”
“Without monthly reconciliations and prompt investigation of differences identified, the college faces higher risk of inappropriate and unauthorized use of its cash. Management may also make improper decisions based on inaccurate cash data,” the report said.
The fourth recommendation issued last November calls on the college to implement a process to monitor the condition and remaining useful life of tangible capital assets.
The report says if that action isn’t taken, “management will not be able to make appropriate short- and long-term capital planning and maintenance decisions without current information on the condition and expected useful remaining life of its tangible capital assets.”
On a positive note, Wylie was quoted as saying some dramatic improvements have been made by post-secondary institutions over the years.
“The number of institutions we have assessed requiring improvements in financial statement preparation processes is its lowest since the start of the report card in 2011,” he said.
“Strong, sustainable financial reporting processes and internal controls improve management’s decision-making ability and provide opportunities to use results analysis to communicate to Albertans the institution’s performance and accountability for results.”
The Albertan reached out to Olds College for comment on the report. Crystal Steeves, Olds College’s director of marketing and promotions responded to decline an interview.
