Every campus in the LSU System produces an annual published budget document in a format prescribed by the Louisiana Board of Regents and the LSU System Office. LSUA’s 2004-2005 budget document [1] is available to the public in hard-copy in the LSUA Library. On-campus budget planning at LSU at Alexandria begins at the departmental level [2] and is reviewed by the university’s Planning Council [3] [4] . LSUA’s annual Operating Budget is approved by the LSU Board of Supervisors [5] .

Accounting Services and Bursar Operations receives and deposits funds to the university, ensures the prompt and proper settlement of amounts owed the university, is responsible for paying invoices for goods/services furnished the university by companies and organizations, and monitors the university’s accounting records [6] [7] [8] .

The university uses the General Ledger System (GLS) owned by Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College (LSU A&M). The GLS is the core system to the integrated Financial Accounting System of LSU A&M. Some of the financial data is fed to the GLS from other financial systems, while other data is entered directly into the GLS system via on-line screens. From Accounting Services and Bursar Operations, departments receive monthly subsidiary summary ledgers [9] that show all transactions.

The LSU at Alexandria audit is normally included as part of and within the LSU System-level audit conducted each year by the Legislative Auditor. LSUA has had no audit findings for the past several years (see Comprehensive Standard 3.10.1).

The LSUA Foundation endowment is managed by the LSU Foundation. The summary report of the LSU Foundation’s performance [10] , as of March 31, 2005, indicates that its return is outperforming its benchmark by 2.24% on a five year annualized basis. For the most recent fiscal year, 2003-2004, the LSU Foundation outperformed its benchmark by 1.51%. As of June 30, 2004 the LSUA Foundation was valued at $9,283,204. The most recent audit report for the LSUA Foundation [11] covered the period ending June 30, 2004.

The annual LSU System audit addresses financial aid Title IV issues. If there are no related findings, LSU at Alexandria is not cited in the audit. There were no audit findings related to Title IV funds at LSUA in the LSU System audit for the period ending June 30, 2003. Please see the related narrative for Comprehensive Standard 3.10.3.

LSUA’s department of Facility Services is primarily responsible for all areas of operation and maintenance of facilities. The Campus Master Plan, [12] and the LSUA Facilities Master Plan, [13] guide personnel in tasks ranging from planning for new facilities to operations and maintenance of existing university facilities. Please see the related narrative for Comprehensive Standard 3.10.7.

Procurement Services and Property Management is responsible for guidance on proper procedures relevant to control of physical resources. These include Basic Purchasing Procedures [14] accessible to staff, faculty, students, and the general public through publications obtainable on the LSUA website.

LSUA follows guidelines for requesting procurement as established by the LSU A&M Purchasing Office. [15] The purchase of items requested is accomplished through either the LSU Accounts Payable System, the LSUA Petty Cash Fund, or the LaCarte Procurement Card.

For purchases authorized and paid through the LSU Accounts Payable System, a standard requisition is completed for the purchase of all supplies, materials, equipment and services from off-campus sources. This requisition must be approved by the appropriate division/authority. The requisition is then forwarded to Procurement Services where it is handled in accordance with LSU purchasing guidelines.

Disbursements from general, restricted, or auxiliary funds are often needed within a short period of time when it is not feasible to use the LSU Accounts Payable System. In such cases, checks are drawn on the Imprest Petty Cash Account [16] , and a petty cash voucher is submitted to LSU for reimbursement. Disbursements through the petty cash account are approved by Procurement Services and processed by Accounting Services in accordance with the LSUA Policy and Procedure for Petty Cash Runs [17] . All petty cash checks have supervisory review, and two signatures are required on all checks over $2,500. There are no departmental petty cash funds.

The LaCarte Procurement Card is a university credit card that is used to simplify the buying process and reduce the time from ordering to payment for relatively inexpensive purchases. Authorized employees may use the cards for purchases of up to $1000. Each Monday morning, the department receives a computerized report of charges to the card. The purchaser must attach receipts and invoices to the report and have it signed by the department head. The department head is responsible for monitoring LaCarte Card purchases.

No commitments are to be entered into without the approval of Procurement Services unless specific authority has been delegated.

Cashiers in Accounting Services and Bursar Operations are assigned a petty cash fund that is used as a cash drawer for customer transactions. At the end of the business day, the cashier performs a self-audit [18] , counting the funds in the cash drawer and balancing to daily reports. The cash drawer is locked in the safe for overnight storage, and cashiers are monitored by supervisors.

LSU Property Management [19] monitors LSUA’s moveable equipment inventory as well as fleet management programs in accordance with Louisiana law. Although each department is responsible for all property purchased, items costing $1,000 or more are included on the annual inventory listing, [20] which is compiled by LSU Property Management and distributed to the appropriate campus departments. Each department then uses this listing to verify the equipment’s location [21] [22] . Each department liaison has the capability of making changes in locations, i.e., building and room, online through the information management system on the LSU A&M mainframe. For equipment disposal, whether surplus or scrap, the state of Louisiana has implemented the Protege System, an online asset management application whereby disposition of equipment can be tracked and documented. This system is inaccessible to the general public for control purposes. Only LSUA Procurement Services and Property Management staff have the capability of making changes in this system, which is linked to the Louisiana Property Assistance Agency.