Reporting the Misappropriation of Public Funds or Assets

Purpose

The purpose of this policy is to provide information and to provide procedures to be followed when misappropriation of public funds or assets have occurred.

State and System Reporting Requirements

Louisiana Revised Statute 24:523 requires Louisiana agency heads to immediately report actual knowledge of any misappropriation of public funds or assets to the Louisiana legislative auditor and to the district attorney of the parish in which the agency is domiciled.

The president shall also report misappropriations to the Louisiana Office of Risk Management and the University of Louisiana System director of internal audit as this is required by these agencies.

University Policies and Procedures

Employees shall adhere to the following procedures:

• Upon knowledge of a suspected misappropriation of public funds or assets, employees shall immediately notify either the Office of Internal Audit or University Police. The Office of Internal Audit and University Police shall communicate and make a preliminary assessment of whether a misappropriation has occurred. If a reasonable suspicion of misappropriation is concluded, the Office of Internal Audit shall notify the president.
• The Office of Internal Audit will notify the vice president for business affairs and chief accounting officer in the case of suspected misappropriated funds and the director of purchasing and property control in the case of suspected misappropriated assets.
• In cases where forced entry or similar unauthorized access has occurred, departments will take a complete physical inventory of movable property to determine the extent of items missing and shall report the results of the physical inventory to the Office of Internal Audit and Office of Purchasing and Property Control.
• The president will notify the legislative auditor, Calcasieu Parish district attorney, the Louisiana Office of Risk Management, and the University of Louisiana System director of internal audit.

Communication

This policy is distributed via the University Policies webpage.