Annual Audit Findings: Progress and Next Steps

Dear faculty and staff,

Later today, the Louisiana Legislative Auditor is expected to release an audit report for the University for fiscal year 2025.

It includes three findings. Two involve federal research compliance processes that have been reported in prior years. The third relates to purchasing card expenses and reporting procedures.

I wanted you to hear directly from me about these findings, the progress we have made and the work that remains.

The two research-related findings are not new. They involve federal grant administration and have been the focus of significant corrective work over the past 13 months. 

We recognized that these findings would likely remain open during this audit cycle because the solutions required substantial changes to processes, organizational structure and oversight systems that could not be fully implemented before the start of the new fiscal year on July 1, 2025. Over the past year, we have continued implementing those changes and strengthening the way research administration is managed. 

We expect these findings to be resolved in the next audit cycle because of those efforts. I am immensely grateful for the diligent work of staff in the Office of Research Administration and Compliance, and that of Dr. Kumer Das and the team in the Office of Research and Innovation. 

The third finding involves purchasing card expenses and reporting procedures. The issues identified in the report were discovered through University monitoring processes and reviewed through established internal procedures. The report demonstrates that University controls worked as intended to identify the issues and support corrective action. We have already implemented additional safeguards related to expense review, employee training and reporting procedures, and we will continue strengthening accountability measures moving forward.

This audit reflects both the work that remains and the progress that has already been made. It notes that two previously reported research compliance findings have been resolved and are no longer cited, while the University continues to strengthen operations, improve oversight and build a stronger foundation for the future.

No one welcomes a negative audit. But accountability requires that we acknowledge problems, address them directly and make improvements where needed. That is exactly what we are doing.

Sincerely,

Dr. Ramesh Kolluru
President