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TO: Deans, Department Heads, and Directors
DATE: Sept. 11, 2003
SUBJ: Accuracy and Timeliness of
Departmental Personnel Actions
I am writing to you about two
important compliance issues: (1) paying
employees accurately and in a timely manner; and (2) the
timely
separation of employees. I seek your support of these efforts
as
part of the University's Financial, Operational, and Administrative
Practices Framework, our corporate compliance program.
Accurate
and Timely Payments to Employees
A recent review by
the Auditor of Public Accounts (APA) indicates the
need to process all appropriate paperwork for new and rehired
employees in a timely manner to ensure operational compliance
with
Federal, State and University regulations, policies, and
procedures.
Specifically, instances occur where employees have worked
for several
pay periods before hiring departments generate and/or send
the hiring
paperwork to Human Resources. It is University practice to
obtain all
required approvals, identify the funding source(s), and complete
the
hiring paperwork on or before the employment date.
Timely
Separation of Employees
The APA review also indicates that
departments are not separating
employees in a timely manner. These delays create the potential
for
internal control weaknesses, including employee overpayments
and
delays in deactivating identification cards (resulting
in improper
access to physical property and computer applications).
As described in "Guidelines for Separating Faculty and
Staff"
(available at http://www.hr.vcu.edu/payroll/index.htm),
the
University has a "backup" process to automatically
separate certain
employees who have had no payroll activity after a specific
period.
During fiscal year 2002-2003, almost 50% of hourly and
adjunct faculty
separations were processed by the University's "backup" process
instead of by timely departmental action. To streamline
the
separation process for more timely separations, a screen
was recently
added to Manager Self Service (MSS) to give departmental
Personnel
Administrators (PAs) access to key on-line separations
for hourly,
student, and adjunct employees. Please encourage your PAs
to take
advantage of this new MSS feature.
VCU developed the above
practices and system enhancements to bring the institution
into compliance with good business operations and to
ensure proper internal controls. I ask that you implement
and enforce
these business practices in your areas.
If you have any questions,
please contact payroll@vcu.edu.
Paul
W. Timmreck
Senior Vice President for Finance and Administration
Copies:
Dr. Eugene P. Trani
Ms. Cynthia H. Andrews
Mr. Donald C. Gehring
Dr. Roderick J. McDavis
Ms. Sue Ann Messmer
Dr. Sheldon M. Retchin
Dr. Marsha R. Torr
Mr. Peter L. Wyeth
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