Ever wonder how the situations at Enron, WorldCom, and the other major corporate scandals of the recent past were able to avoid detection? Weren’t there internal controls in place to prevent such things? In most cases, there were, but the lack of an ethical culture in the management structure rendered the internal controls ineffective. Both internal controls and an ethical climate must be present to inhibit fraud within an organization. Want to know more about internal controls? Click here to go to the Internal Audit Department’s short presentation. But controls are not enough. Each of us needs to contribute to an ethical culture that extends throughout the campus. Ask yourself, what have I done today to demonstrate a positive ethical climate in my organization?

A recent State Auditor investigative report found that an official at one of North Carolina’s state universities had used his official university cell phone for more than $1,000 worth of personal calls. This official was required to repay his university as one of the administrative disciplinary actions. According to the Use of State Property paragraph in The Employee Handbook on the Office of State Personnel Website (page 7), "Under no circumstances may long distance calls or toll calls of a personal nature be made at the state’s expense." Personal telephone calls are occasionally necessary, such as during emergency situations, but they are to be limited. This applies also state-owned cell phones issued to university employees. There is no allowance for reimbursements, and making a reimbursement does not make it right. Some employees have complied with this standard by carrying the state-owned cell phone and a personal cell phone. If you have a question about this subject or another official use of state property question, ask your supervisor first. Supervisors can contact the Internal Audit Department for additional guidance.

The holiday season is approaching, and all those folks with whom we do business will surely want to show their appreciation. So what do you do with those Bobcats tickets that show up in the mail, or that fruit basket with wine that comes in with the UPS truck? Do you have to return everything? You don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings, but you don’t want to go to jail or pay a huge fine either. The closest we have to a general "gift" law in North Carolina is North Carolina General Statute §133-32. Violation of this provision is a criminal offense. Some good advice can be found in this newsletter from the Board of Ethics. The general gift prohibition has several significant exceptions, so the best course of action is to discuss the situation with your supervisor. Supervisors can contact the General Counsel’s office at ext. 7-2553 for additional guidance.

Secondary (outside) employment

Many employees supplement their university paycheck with a second job, or have a personal business, such as operating as an independent sales representative for a company, after normal working hours and/or on weekends. If you are one of these employees, or a supervisor of one of these employees, please review the university policy on secondary employment. For EPA employees, Policy Statement #1 is the reference; while SPA employee guidelines are in Policy Statement #88. These permission requirements are intended to ensure that any outside employment does not have an adverse effect on the employee’s employment obligations to the university or create a conflict of interest. If you have any questions about secondary employment, please discuss them with your supervisor. The Human Resources Department (ext. 7-2276) or the Office of General Counsel (ext. 7-2553) are available to assist supervisors with any questions.

It’s the end of the day and you are “off the clock.”  You want to unwind with a little on-line poker playing.  You’re off duty, so it must be OK to use your work computer to log into your favorite game site and play a few hands before going home, right?  Wrong. Use of a university computer to participate in online gambling is a violation the University’s Policy Statement #66, Responsible use of University Computing and Electronic Communication Resources, as well as state law.  Violators could be subject to disciplinary actions under the university’s disciplinary policies.  Want to know more about our computer use policies?  Click here.

This guidance clarifies and supersedes similar information posted in last week’s issue. Departments collecting money are reminded that the Daily Deposit and Reporting Law (G.S. 147-77) requires each agency to deposit all funds on a daily basis and to report the same on a daily basis. There is an exemption that may be granted to the university by the State Treasurer, for situations when the funds to be deposited do not exceed $250 and the funds will be deposited at least once per week. At the present time, the university has not requested this exemption, so all departments are expected to comply with the daily deposit requirement.

Did you know?

Did you know that purchases amounting to more than $2,500 but less than $200,000 must be subjected to formal competition? And that printing jobs involving four-color process printing must be approved by the North Carolina Division of Purchase and Contract in Raleigh regardless of dollar amount? Need to learn more about purchasing policies and procedures? Get started by reading the policy online