The Great Smoky Mountain Journal
Source: WVLT
Tuesday, January 01, 2019 02:44 PM
Division Of State Audit Releases 2017 UT Financial Report Finding School Did Not Monitor Controls In Nine Areas
According to the Comptroller's report, auditors found one condition at the UT Chattanooga campus and seven conditions at the UT Martin campus that violated university or campus policies or industry-accepted best practices. The report detailed that the condition at Chattanooga was noted in a prior audit.
Auditors also found one system-wide condition where adequate written internal controls were not in place.
The Comptroller's report found no instances of noncompliance or other matters that conflicted with certain provisions of laws, regulations, contracts or grant agreements, however.
According to the report, at the end of the 2017 year, the university reported $5,011,489 in total assets, compared to $4,690,950 in 2016. The total net position, meaning the complete financial standing at the end of the 2017 year after deferred outflows, deferred inflows and liabilities have been taken into consideration, was recorded at $3,113,216, compared to $2,911,212 in 2016.
The report also explained that tuition and fees increased by $18.9 million, or 4 percent, in 2017 as compared to 2016. Operating grants and contracts experienced a decrease of $27.4 million, or 5.3 percent, which followed an unusually high 12.2 percent increase in the 2016 fiscal year. Overall, auditors noted, operating grants and contracts remained on an increasing trend in 2017.
Auxiliaries also increased $9 million, mainly due to the UT Knoxville campus's Athletics Department, which increased ticket sales and additional SEC network revenues.
As of June 30, 2017, the university had $1,001,121,662.82 in debt; as of June 30, 2016, the university had $901,487,804.29 in debt outstanding.
For the 2018 fiscal year, the University of Tennessee Board of Trustees authorized individual campus fees to increase by 1.8 percent, which would generate an expected $11.4 million in new funding, with a continued projected increase in enrollment. State appropriations were set to increase $36 million.
"The university continues to be successful in competing for grants and contracts," the report read. "The capital markets have shown little improvement and remain potentially unstable, which could affect the university's investment income."
For more information and to read the complete report, click here.