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Reporting Fraud, Waste, or Abuse
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State law requires all public institutions of higher education to
provide a means by which students, employees, or others may report
suspected or known improper or dishonest acts. In addition, Chattanooga
State Technical Community College is committed to the responsible
stewardship of our resources.
Whether you are part of departmental management, a faculty or staff
member, a student, or an interested citizen, we encourage you to report
known or suspected dishonest acts by employees, outside contractors, or
vendors.
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What Should I Report?
Dishonest acts, either known or suspected, should be reported, such as:
· Theft or misappropriation of funds, supplies, property, or other
college resources
· Forgery or alteration of documents
· Unauthorized alteration or manipulation of computer files
· Improper and wasteful activity
· Falsification of reports to management or external agencies
· Pursuit of a benefit or advantage in violation of the college’s
conflict of interests policy
Authorization or receipt of compensation for hours not worked
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Think Before You Speak!
Before making allegations of dishonesty, be reasonably certain of any
claims. Such allegations
can seriously and negatively impact the accused individual’s life and
adversely affect the working environment of the department.
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Reporting Options
Several options are available to all college employees, students and
others for reporting known or suspected dishonest acts.
You may report your concerns:
To your supervisor or department head
- To an official at your campus or institute
- To the college’s Internal Audit (423)697-4749
- To the Tennessee Board of Regents by email at
ReportFraud@tbr.state.tn.us
- To the Tennessee Comptroller’s Hotline for Fraud, Waste and Abuse at
1-800-232-5454
If you are a supervisor, department head, or campus official and you
receive a report of a dishonest act, contact Internal Audit at
(423)697-4749 for further assistance.
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Investigations
When Internal Audit receives allegations of dishonesty or other
irregularity by an employee, outside contractor, or vendor, they are
required to conduct an investigation.
Departmental management should not attempt to conduct investigations nor
alert suspected employees of an impending investigation.
In an investigation, objectives include verifying the facts, maintaining
objectivity and confidentiality,
determining responsibility, and recommending corrective actions to help
ensure that similar actions
do not occur in the future.
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Protection under State Law
As Internal Audit investigates allegations of dishonesty, the reporting
individual’s confidentiality is protected under Tennessee Code Annotated
Title 10, Chapter 7 (subject to court action requiring disclosure).
Also, state law prohibits discrimination or retaliation of any kind
against employees who report allegations of dishonest acts.
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Reporting Responsibility
Internal Audit has reporting responsibility to the Audit Committee of
the Tennessee Board of Regents through the Director of System-wide
Internal Auditing. This reporting relationship enables them to
independently and objectively review matters involving any level of
administration at the college.
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Preventing Fraud, Waste and Abuse
Chattanooga State Technical Community College management is responsible
for establishing and implementing systems and procedures to prevent and
detect fraud, waste and abuse.
The basic elements of a proper control system include:
Creating a culture of honesty and high ethics
Evaluating risks and implementing processes, procedures and controls
to prevent, deter and detect fraud, waste and abuse
Developing an appropriate oversight process
Management at all levels of the college should review the information
that is available from the American Institute of Certified Public
Accountants in the document, Management Antifraud Programs and Controls:
Guidance to Help Prevent and Deter Fraud, at their website:
http://www.aicpa.org/download/antifraud/SAS-99-Exhibit.pdf
Please contact Internal Audit at (423)697-4749 if you need assistance in
reviewing risks, processes, procedures or controls, or in providing
internal control training.
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