The audit shows the university did not add over one thousand newly hired individuals to its payroll system in a timely fashion. The audit, which examined the period of July 1, 2017 through March 31, 2019, evaluated whether the university had taken measures to address management issues first identified in a 2017 external audit conducted by KPMG.
Conclusion
Did NSCC ensure that students transferring to the college were granted eligible earned credits upon transfer in accordance with the Department of Higher Education’s (DHE’s) “MassTransfer Policy Guidelines,” DHE’s “Community College Transfer Principles,” and NSCC policy?
Yes
Did NSCC certify the completion of the MassTransfer Block on students’ transcripts in accordance with DHE’s “MassTransfer Policy Guidelines”?
Yes
Did NSCC administer eligibility requirements within the Commonwealth Commitment Program in accordance with DHE’s “Commonwealth Commitment Implementation Guidelines”?
Yes
To achieve our objective, we gained an understanding of NSCC’s internal control environment related to our audit objectives by reviewing agency policies and procedures, as well as conducting inquiries with NSCC’s staff members and management.
100% For audit testing purposes, we defined “in compliance” as “processed within 62 days.” By statute, “in compliance” can range from 28 to 62 days depending on the day of the month retirements are effective, as outlined in the “Overview of Audited Entity.” section of this report under “Retirement Application Process.”
We selected a statistical random sample for testing, with a 95% confidence level and a 0% expected error rate, of 60 of the 5,559 retirements in the Noncompliant General segment (processing times of 63 to 179 days). We also selected a nonstatistical random sample of 40 of the 289 Noncompliant Outlier retirements (processing times of 180 days or more) for testing. We analyzed the retirement application processing timeline for the selected cases to determine whether there were any underlying reasons for the delays in processing first payments. We reviewed supporting documentation (such as retirement applications, application checklists, a
A sign reads “Suicide kills teens more than COVID” during the LetCOPlay protest Dec. 17 at Creekside Park, across from the office of the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment in Glendale. About 70 students, parents and coaches participated in response to the postponement of high school winter sports. (Photo by Chancey Bush/The Gazette)
Chancey Bush, The Gazette
Executive Summary
The Massachusetts State Employees’ Retirement System (MSERS), one of the Commonwealth’s 104 contributory retirement systems, provides retirement, disability, survivor, and death benefits to state employees, employees of certain other public entities, and their beneficiaries. MSERS is administered by the Massachusetts State Retirement Board (MSRB) and operates under the purview of the Office of the State Treasurer and Receiver General. In fiscal year 2019, MSRB issued more than $2.3 billion in benefit payments to more than 64,000 retirees and survivors.
In accordance with Section 12 of Chapter 11 of the Massachusetts General Laws, the Office of the State Auditor has conducted a performance audit of MSRB for the period July 1, 2017 through June 30, 2019. The purpose of our audit was to determine whether MSRB ensured that members received their first pension payments within the timeframe established by Section 13(1)(b) of Chapter 32 of the General Laws.