FAQs

Please refer to the Michigan Tech Record Retention Policy (specifically, Appendix A is the record retention schedule).

You must keep your purchasing card statements and receipts for three years; if you reallocate to sponsored projects (research funds), you must keep them for three years and three months after a project ends. If you leave the University or change departments, your department is still responsible for those receipts. To avoid that hassle, you can upload your statements and receipts to Perceptive Content and destroy the paper copies. See Instructions.

Refer to the Purchasing Card Procedures for more information.

Note that many documents are retained centrally and do not need to also be maintained in departmental offices. You can also Ask the Auditor

Yes, we are Michigan Tech employees. There are two classifications of auditors: internal auditors and external auditors. We are classified as internal auditors. External auditors can fall into various categories (e.g., state, public accounting firms, federal).

Management personnel may contact the director to request an audit, a special review, or advisory services. Your request will be reviewed, and the director will determine how we may best meet your needs and coordinate review activities based on our audit plan commitments.

The auditor typically prepares a draft report, which contains observations, a conclusion, and recommendations, and shares it with the entity being audited. The audit entity is asked to review the draft report and to provide comments on the report’s accuracy, tone, and recommendations; the responses to the auditor’s recommendations are added to the report. Final audit reports are issued to the audit entity management, the president, vice presidents, and the Board of Trustees.

Our objective is to offer suggestions to mitigate identified risks. We believe the head of a University organization would want to mitigate identified risks, even though University policy might not yet specifically address a given situation.

We have an obligation to University management, the Board of Trustees, and the professional practice of internal auditing to report progress on actions to implement audit recommendations. We typically perform follow-up calls within six months of an audit.

Should you become aware of these situations, we would like to have your input. You should contact internal audit at 906-487-1962, call our Ethics Hotline at 844-490-0055, or submit your concerns online.

We are located in office 209 of the Michigan Tech Lakeshore Center.

Fraud Category Key

Accounting and Auditing Matter: The unethical systematic recording and analysis of the business and financial transactions associated with generally accepted accounting practices.

Conflict of Interest: A conflict (real, potential, or apparent) between the private interests and the official responsibilities of a person in a position of trust.

Embezzlement: To appropriate (as property entrusted to one's care) fraudulently to one's own use, e.g., bookkeeping errors, misapplication of funds, or mishandling of cash.

Falsification of Contracts, Reports, or Records: Altering, falsifying, or forging any part of a document, contract, or record for the purpose of gaining an advantage, or misrepresenting the value of a document. Also, failure to complete and post or file data and reports required by law to governmental agencies.

Misconduct or Inappropriate Behavior: Intentional wrongdoing; specifically, deliberate violation of a law or standard.

Theft of University Property: The act of stealing; to appropriate (as property entrusted to one's care) fraudulently to one's own use.

Violation of Policy: Willful or innocent actions that are in direct violation of company policy, procedures, code of conduct, and/or implied contractual responsibilities.