The Arizona State Comptroller General said internal weaknesses and compliance violations were found in financial reporting for the Maricopa County Community College District.

2022 DISTRICT FINANCE REVIEW found that approximately $4.4 million was at high risk of fraud. This was because supervisors were not reviewing timesheets for thousands of employees.

In past years, we’ve found that employees deliberately misreported hours between 2017 and 2019, resulting in overpayments of over $13,000.

The report also notes that the district allowed around $30,000 to be stolen by scammers because it did not follow certain vendor protocols.

The district agreed with the findings regarding the mishandling of public funds. The report found no significant weaknesses in the district.

A significant weakness means that a company’s internal controls are ineffective.

“Maricopa Community College is pleased with the audit findings that it was unable to identify any internal control deficiencies that the Auditor General identified as material weaknesses, but we have taken significant steps toward resolving the items described in the report. MCCCD will need training, reporting and approval processes to address these issues in the future,” said Charles Coolidge, EVP of Marketing and Communications.

Editor’s Note: KJZZ is licensed by the Maricopa County Community College District.