Item

1

Have personnel been instructed to become familiar with the policy on "Unprofessional Conduct and Sexual Harassment" as outlined in the Staff Handbook and/or Faculty Handbook?

2 

Have personnel been instructed to become familiar with the rules on "Nepotism" as outlined in the Staff Handbook and/or Faculty Handbook?

Have personnel been instructed to become familiar with the rules on "Gifts and Favors" as outlined in the Staff Handbook and/or Faculty Handbook?

Have personnel been instructed to become familiar with the "Policy on Use of Facilities, Equipment or Property" as outlined in the Staff Handbook and/or Faculty Handbook?

Have personnel been instructed to become familiar with the Family Educational Rights & Privacy Act?

Have personnel been instructed to become familiar with the policy on "Prohibited Transactions and Contractual Arrangements" as outlined in the Staff Handbook and/or Faculty Handbook?

Item

 1

Are transactions periodically reviewed online in the Financial Records Systems?

Does the budget unit forward all original invoices received directly from vendors to Business Affairs - Accounts Payable Section?

Have employees been instructed to become familiar with state travel regulations?

Have employees been instructed to become familiar with Section VIII of the Fiscal Policy and Procedures Manual?

When the budget unit receives updates to Section VIII of the Fiscal Policy & Procedures Manual, is the information disseminated to and discussed with individuals who have duties and responsibilities  which are affected by the updates?

Are monthly telephone statements reviewed for accuracy and personal calls?

Have employees been made aware that it is against University policy to make personal long-distance calls?

Item

Question

Yes

No

N/A

Does the budget unit have a copy of NSU's Fiscal Policy and Procedures Manual?

Has the budget unit created, maintained, and made available to its faculty/staff a departmental policy and procedures manual?

Does the budget unit have an up-to-date copy of the Staff Handbook?

Does the budget unit have an up-to-date copy of or Intranet access to the Faculty Handbook?

Does your budget unit maintain a Key Control Log?

[The Key Control Log should list all keys issued by the budget unit, date of issuance, key/room number, date returned, etc.  Keys should be collected from employees when they transfer from the budget unit or leave the University.]

Are quarterly safety meetings held within your budget unit?  

Is documentation of such meetings forwarded to Environmental Health & Safety Officer?

 

Forwarded in a timely manner?

Are all year-end close procedures and/or deadlines followed, as indicated by the appropriate university personnel?

8

When the budget unit receives updates to the Fiscal Policy & Procedures Manual, is the information disseminated to and discussed with individuals who have duties which are affected by the updates?

 9

Is the organizational structure within the budget unit clearly defined?

 10

Are the number of requests to approve exceptions to established policy kept to a minimum?  

Are such approvals always documented?

 11

Have budget unit or departmental objectives been established?

 12

Have risks or obstacles to achieving those objectives been identified?

Were external risk factors (technology changes, economic conditions, etc.) considered?

 

Were internal risk factors (employee turnover, morale, etc.) considered?

 13

Have the specific assignments necessary to implement those objectives been identified and communicated to the responsible employees?

 14

Does the budget unit receive relevant information regarding new and/or proposed legislation, regulatory developments, or similar external factors that may affect the budget unit and/or the University as a whole?

[Audit Alert 2002-004 has information regarding how budget units and departments may stay abreast of relevant information.]

 15

Are student complaints taken seriously, investigated, and acted upon when necessary?

Is there follow-up communications with the individual making the complaint?

 

Is supervisory personnel in the budget unit aware of the nature and volume of complaints?

 16

Is the overall effectiveness of the internal control system routinely evaluated?

[If you are not familiar with the internal control system, please click here.]

17

Does the budget unit head periodically spot-check transactions, records, and reconciliations to ensure they meet his/her expectations?

Item

1  

Is the budget unit current in conducting quarterly safety meetings?

2

Is the budget unit current in forwarding required documentation to the Environmental Health & Safety Officer regarding quarterly safety meetings?

 3

Have personnel been instructed to become familiar with the policy on "Policy on Smoking in University Buildings" as outlined in the Staff Handbook and/or Faculty Handbook?

  4

Have personnel been instructed to become familiar with the policy on "Medical Emergencies" as outlined in the Staff Handbook and/or Faculty Handbook?

  5

Have personnel been instructed to become familiar with the policy on "Fiscal Responsibility For Student Organizations, Clubs, Groups and Other Organizations Affiliated With the University", as outlined in the Staff Handbook and/or Faculty Handbook?

 6

Have personnel been instructed to become familiar with the policy on "Reporting Accidents" as outlined in the Staff Handbook and/or Faculty Handbook?

 7

Have personnel been instructed to become familiar with the policy on "Policy Statement Regarding Alcohol and Drugs" as outlined in the Staff Handbook and/or Faculty Handbook?

 8

Are budget unit facilities free of obstructions, or other conditions, which could constitute a danger in the event of fire or other disaster?

9

Have all personnel been made aware of the Environmental Officer's name and provided contact information?

10

Does the budget unit have a policy of conducting periodic walk-through inspections of their workspace, to identify and correct any unsafe or potentially hazardous conditions and work practices?

[Any unsafe or potentially hazardous conditions should be reported to the Environmental Health & Safety Officer.]

11

Some departments carry out activities which involve bio-hazardous agents, hazardous chemicals, or radioactive material.  If applicable, answer the following questions:

• Have all personnel been notified of potential hazards and trained recently in appropriate work practices and emergency response procedures?

• Are all required documentation in place and current?

• Are inventories of all hazardous materials within the budget unit's facilities maintained and updated regularly?

• Are all potentially hazardous materials properly labeled and stored, inclusive of compatible storage grouping, secondary containment for flammable liquids, and radiation warning signs and labels?

• Is the disposal of all potentially hazardous material coordinated through the Environmental Health & Safety Officer?

Item

Have employees been made aware of, have access to, and been instructed to become familiar with the Electronic Data Systems Policies and Standards Manual, which is online?

2

Are  workstations (computers and servers) and peripheral devices physically secure?

3

Is there an inventory record of workstations and peripheral devices maintained in the department?

Are surge protectors/suppressors used?

Are workstations and peripheral devices protected from excessive moisture and/or heat?

Are disks and other storage media stored away from extreme heat and/or cold?

Are disks and other storage media protected from dust?

Are disks and other storage media protected from sunlight?

Are disks and other storage media protected from magnetic devices?

Are disks and other storage media write protected when not in use?

Have procedures been established for the backup of data files, including the identification  of all critical data files and programs on workstations and servers?

Are employees trained in backup and recovery procedures?

Are backup copies of appropriate data files actually being made on a regular basis?

Are backup copies stored in a remote, secure location?

Has virus protection software been installed on all workstations and servers?

Is the installed virus protection software a current or recently released version?

Have users been made aware of ways to reduce the damage causes by a virus?

[Virus damage can be reduced by backing up data and by not copying other's software (including Public Domain) until it has been checked for viruses.]

Are users aware of the damages and/or effects of a computer virus?

Are critical or sensitive data files protected from unauthorized access (e.g. by the use of passwords)?

Are workstations shut off or locked when left unattended?

Do users log off the system when workstations are left unattended?

Does each employee have his/her own username identification and password to access mainframe applications?

Have employees been instructed to not post their password near their workstation or terminal?

Have employees been instructed to keep their password confidential?

When an employee transfers to another position and/or department at the University, is his/her system access reviewed for compatibility for the new position?  

Is compatibility reviewed in a timely manner?

[Employee access to data and data files should be a business need only basis.]

When an employee leaves the University, is his/her access to the system terminated?  

Is access terminated in a timely manner?

Have employees been instructed to dispose of confidential output (e.g. printouts containing grades, social security numbers, etc.) in a responsible manner (e.g. shredding)?

Have employees been made aware that the copying of software is generally unlawful?

Are warranty registration cards completed and returned to the vendor?

30

Are Security Reports periodically reviewed to ensure that users of the system have access to data limited to a business-need-only basis?

Item

Have employees been instructed to become familiar with Section X of the Fiscal Policy and Procedures Manual?

When the budget unit receives updates to the Section X of the Fiscal Policy & Procedures Manual, is the information disseminated to and discussed with individuals who have duties and responsibilities which are affected by the updates?

 3

Does supervisory personnel's management philosophy and style communicate high expectations regarding integrity and ethical values?

Are those individuals' directives and actions consistent with such high expectations?

4

Are human resource policies clearly communicated to the budget unit's personnel?

5

Is inappropriate behavior dealt with in a consistent manner?

Is such behavior dealt with in a timely manner?

6

Are job descriptions accurate and up-to-date?  

Are major expectations included in the job description?

7

Is adequate training provided to all personnel within the budget unit?

8

Are NSU Daily Attendance and Leave Reports (timesheets) reviewed and/or recalculated for accuracy and agreed to supervisory records?

For emergency / unplanned leave, are employees required to complete a Request for Leave form upon their return to duty?

10

Do employees obtain prior approval for overtime work?

 11

Do employees obtain prior approval for compensatory leave earned?

 12

Have employees been instructed to become familiar with the policy on "Seeking & Holding Public Office" as outlined in the Staff Handbook and/or Faculty Handbook?

 13

Are employees required to take appropriate leave when absent from work?

 14

Are "prospective" employees prohibited from beginning work, prior to completion of required documentation, inclusive of signatory approvals? 

 15

Are employees that handle cash, cash items, and other valuable assets bonded?

 16

Have classified employees been instructed to become familiar with the policy on "Prohibited Activities - Classified Employees" as outlined in Section X-23 in the Fiscal Policy & Procedures Manual?

 17

If the budget unit has related employees, have the duties and responsibilities of the involved parties been coordinated in a manner which minimizes the opportunity for collusion?

 18

Is the projection of time worked prohibited?

19

Are all changes and/or corrections to payroll documents (e.g. timesheets, leave forms, etc.) initialed?

20

Does the budget maintain a daily log of hours worked by wages of labor and student employees?

21

Is access to NSU Daily Attendance and Leave Reports (timesheets) restricted from employees after approval by the supervisor? 

Have employees been instructed to complete NSU Daily Attendance and Leave Reports (timesheets) in ink, with the single exception of darkening in the mark-sensed circles in pencil? 

Have personnel been instructed to become familiar with the policy on "Employment Outside the University Setting" as outlined in the Fiscal Policy & Procedures Manual?

24

Have personnel been instructed to become familiar with the policy on "Volunteer Services Agreement" as outlined in the Fiscal Policy & Procedures Manual?