Audit: Montana's higher ed office, board abused state money on hotel rooms, plane tickets, more
An audit of the state Office of the Commissioner of Higher Education found several instances where money spent on travel and meals constituted an "abuse" of state money, including a plane ticket from Europe and hotel rooms around annual Cat-Griz football games.
In a response to the audit released this month and done by the Legislative Audit Committee, the commissioner of higher education said he concurred with recommendations to address noncompliance and abuse of state money. Commissioner Clayton Christian wrote that the office would create new procedures and ways to monitor spending, as well as new policies where ones were lacking.
"The recommendations of this financial audit will help OCHE to improve critical operations related to internal controls and compliance monitoring," Christian wrote in a letter to auditors dated June 5.
The Office of the Commissioner of Higher Education is the administration hub for the Montana University System and the Board of Regents that governs the system. There are seven regents appointed by the governor and confirmed by the state Senate. There are just shy of 60 full-time equivalent positions in the commissioner's office.
Read more: https://helenair.com/news/state-and-regional/govt-and-politics/audit-montana-s-higher-ed-office-board-abused-state-money/article_5a6acfdd-f897-55e0-af49-57d64e32f19f.html