Old College investigated itself

Published 26 Mar 2009 09:00 0 Comments

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An Audit Office report has expressed surprise that the Department of Education and Learning (DEL) allowed the former Fermanagh College"s Governing Body to take on the policing role of investigating a whistle-blower"s allegations after independent investigations had already highlighted 'serious failures' at the College.

The Northern Ireland Audit Office (NIAO) report this week published the 'Governance Examination of Fermanagh College of Further and Higher Education'.

It states that DEL was in receipt of various whistle-blowing allegations about the College in 2005. The College Board subsequently informed DEL that, having examined all the findings that there were 'no major areas of concern' as a result of their investigations into the anonymous whistle-blowing letter except for an issue over overtime payment.

The NAIO report poses questions about DEL"s handling of issues at Fermanagh College. 'The Audit Office was surprised that DEL was prepared to leave it to the Governing Body to decide what action it should take in light of the serious failures emerging from the WBL (Work-based Learning) investigation and as one of the allegations made was that previous complaints to the Governing Body had not been investigated. DEL took this course of action as result of legal action it had received,' the report notes.

The NIAO report also highlights how the finger of blame has been pointed in various directions by the parties involved.

A report from the Governing Body said the greatest impediment it faced was being 'kept in the dark' on issues of strategic and operational significance.

However, when DEL was asked for a response to the Governing Body"s assessment for the reasons for financial failures, it said: 'There appear to be a number of areas where the Governing Body has a fundamental misunderstanding of its own role and responsibilities, and those of the Department, particularly in relation to the types of audit function carried out. There also seems to be a lack of awareness that the Governing Body is ultimately responsible for the effective management of the college'.

The Work Based Learning investigation report was one undertaken by DEL. It found it had given the College money for a programme even though the College did not meet the funding criteria. As a result of this review and others including one from the Education and Training Inspectorate, the College agreed to repay funding of £1.14 million. It took three years to for DEL to decide that the College was not entitled to WBL funding.

Comprehensive reviews of financial management within the College found:

*£16,158 was paid in overtime to a member of staff who was not entitled to overtime payments. A time lag meant there was little possibility to recover the payment.

*Controls within the College were not sufficient to avoid abuse of entertainment expenditure which averaged at £9,000 a year.

*£30,000 was paid for 500 fitness workbooks of which less than 200 were used.

*there were significant weaknesses in corporate and business planning and financial planning and budgeting

*there was an absence of financial controls

*an unreliable management information system

*a lack of challenge from corporate governance systems

*a lack of organisational structure in the Senior Management Team, discord between management and academic staff, and fundamental breeches in complying with Departmental circulars and Governing accounting requirements

*a need to secure the necessary leadership and a significant corporate change programme.

The NIAO report takes an overview of the reviews into Fermanagh College that found 'serious failings in financial management and raised concerns over the regularity and propriety of the use of public funds'.

It makes a number of findings and raises issues surrounding the Governing Body and DEL"s handling of the matter.

The report describes it as a 'matter of concern' that the findings in Fermanagh College remained undetected by the Governing Body.

'We recommend that the Department (DEL) should have taken steps to monitor closely the operation of college audit committees. DEL has taken forward this recommendation. A balance has to be struck between the arms-length status of the colleges and DEL"s Accounting Officer"s responsibilities and the Department has given this careful consideration. However, the Audit Office concluded that the Accounting Officer was not able to obtain sufficient assurance to meet the responsibilities for the distribution of public funds by the College'.

The NIAO comments on its 'great concern' that many of the failures it found in Fermanagh College were exactly the same as those identified in a 1999 report.

One of the reviews that looked at financial management of the College 'was limited by the fact that two key stakeholders, namely the Principal and the Finance Director, were unavailable for interview during the review'. This review found that some key financial information was not provided to members of the Governing Body.

The Director of the new South West College, which incorporated Fermanagh College into its structure two years ago, has highlighted 'root and branch restructuring' at the new institution. This NIAO investigation and report began just prior to the creation of a new college structure resulting in the merger of East Tyrone, Omagh and Fermanagh Colleges into South West College in August 2007.

Mr. Victor Refaussé, Director of South West College, welcomed the NIAO report. '[It] brings to a close a protracted period of much-publicised consultancy reviews into, among other areas, financial management procedures at Fermanagh College'.

In all, eight independently commissioned reviews took place at the College.

'The [NIAO] report specifically relates to a series of events and reviews that date between 2001 and 2006,' said Mr. Refaussé.

'South West College has long acknowledged the outcome of all eight reviews - not least the outcome of our own detailed due diligence completed ahead of the merger - and has been quick to act on recommendations made.

In the wake of a root and branch restructuring and the implementation of robust new procedures at the college, South West College recently published its first set of financial accounts for the year-ending July 31, 2008. These reflect the sound financial status of the new college structure and the "substantial assurance' recommendation made by our independent auditors PricewaterhouseCoopers,' he said.

'South West College wishes to acknowledge the contribution made by the Department for Employment and Learning (DEL) in providing training support to our new, fully trained Governing Board, appointed under the guidance of the Commissioner for Public Appointments, and its ongoing assistance in ensuring we meet the strategic vision and challenges set out in our College Development Plan 2009-2012.

'I also wish to praise the efforts of our management and staff at South West College for their exceptional efforts and dedication in our mission to provide a quality product to all our students and support the needs of the local and regional economy,' said Mr. Refaussé.

This article appeared in Impartial Reporter 26 Mar 09

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