Report 2016-130 - UC Office of the President: Status of Actions Taken

Auditees must provide the State Auditor with information regarding their progress in implementing recommendations from our reports at three intervals from the release of the report: 60 days, six months, and one year. Additionally, Senate Bill 1452 (Chapter 452, Statutes of 2006), requires auditees who have not implemented recommendations after one year, to report to us and to the Legislature why they have not implemented them or to state when they intend to implement them.

Because the Governor of California has directed the University of California Office of the President (UCOP) to meet specific criteria—related to recommendations we made—in order to receive certain funding from the State, we are providing information at-a-glance about UCOP's progress in implementing those recommendations. This assessment can be used to inform the Governor's May Revise proposal and the Legislature's deliberations on the state budget. Outlined below are the 33 recommendations which we made to UCOP in our report, The University of California Office of the President: It Failed to Disclose Tens of Millions in Surplus Funds, and Its Budget Practices Are Misleading (Report 2016-130: April 2017).

Overall Assessment

Based on our review of the Office of the President's 1-year response, we have concerns regarding its implementation of our budget and salary range recommendations. The Office of the President did not fully implement the State Auditor's recommendation for implementing its budget by April 2018. The failure to do so may hinder the Department of Finance, the Legislature, and the Governor when making decisions regarding the UC's portion of the fiscal year 2018-19 state budget. This is a critical recommendation that, if successfully implemented, will significantly improve stakeholders' ability to hold the Office of the President accountable.

Overall, the Office of the President fully implemented six of the 10 recommendations that were due by April 2018. We recognize that the Office of the President has invested significant resources and made progress in implementing our recommendations by improving its fiscal, staffing, and systemwide initiative processes. However, not completing the budget recommendation on-time is a significant deficiency in the Office of the President’s response to the audit. We expected the Office of the President would have prioritized addressing this recommendation in light of legislative actions in the fiscal year 2018-19 budget, but it failed to do so.

To access all recommendations, responses, and our assessment:

• Office of the President Recommendations
• Regents Recommendation