By After the California State University system audited student organizations at Long Beach State earlier this year, it found “operational, administrative, and financial” issues that will change the way Associated Students Inc. administers funds and how clubs organize events.
Auditors found that 26 out of the 40 LBSU sports clubs were not registered on BeachSync, and that their agency accounts were being used incorrectly. Also, certain Greek life organizations did not complete their Greek 101 training, which teaches members about alcohol abuse, sexual misconduct and hazing. According to Jeff Klaus, associate vice president of Student Life and Development, part of fixing this issue will be the proper documentation of the new members, providing Greek 101 training at different times and dates, and setting the deadline.
“If they do not complete the training by a certain point then they will not be permitted to participate,” said Klaus.
According to the audit report that was released in May, the campus had “inconsistent application of practices, outdated policies and procedures, and oversight in the Office of Student Life and Development and ASI.”
“I actually view audits as a very positive thing because it shows us where we can improve, and there’s never anything wrong with that,” said Klaus.
BeachSync allows sports clubs to verify whether or not a student can participate. Because some clubs were not registered, student officials’ eligibility was not verified. Additionally, sport club presidents did not sign a non-discrimination statement, also required systemwide. There was insufficient data to show that sports club officials received CSU required training on alcohol policies.
In order to fix these issues, the auditors recommended that the school require all unregistered sports clubs to register on BeachSync and complete all necessary forms and compliance agreements.
“This is exactly what we are going to do and what should have been done,” Klaus said.
Auditors reviewed three cash advances given to SLD personnel totaling $20,550, “of which $19,750 was for one event, the American Indian Pow Wow.”
Normally, payments are made after the event, according to SLD. Cash advances are against ASI and SLD policy because they could lead to improper documentation of expenses. Because of the use of cash advances, auditors were unable to recover $223.
According to Klaus, the Pow Wow is an exception because cash advances are used to pay the dancers in Pow Wows all along the West Coast.
Eleven agency account agreements were either not renewed or could not be found, according to the audit report. Agency accounts are financial accounts for student organizations that are administered by ASI. According to the report, ASI did not keep enough records to support what student organizations were spending. This is an issue because, without proper records, certain expenses cannot be justified.
“Prior to this audit, there were all kinds of fiscal certifications for organizations if they wanted to handle money,” said Jesse Luna, ASI treasurer.
After the audit, however, only two certifications were offered. According to Luna, this includes a fiscal certification, which trains students to be aware of their spending, as well as a cash handling certification.
“Some students don’t know too much about how to handle money,” Luna said.
Luna stated that organizations will now be required to complete a training that teaches them how to use their grants, and will not receive them until their training is complete.
