FAYETTEVILLE – A state audit found that Fayetteville State University did not consistently administer its procurement-card program, identifying delayed reviews, missing records and purchases barred by university rules.
The Office of the State Auditor examined card activity from July 1, 2025, through Feb. 28, 2026. During that period, the university processed 6,002 transactions totaling about $2 million.
Auditors reviewed a nonstatistical sample of 662 transactions totaling about $576,000. They found 175 transactions, or 26% of the sample, lacked evidence of required supervisory review or were reviewed late. That included 68 transactions totaling $14,727 with no documented review and 107 totaling $85,954 reviewed between two and 239 days late.
The report also identified documentation problems in 96 transactions, or 15% of the sample. Thirty-three transactions totaling $7,799 lacked receipts, while 63 totaling $22,952 did not document a business purpose.
Auditors said 23 transactions totaling $3,212 were automatically approved without the required supervisory review. Five other transactions totaling $3,659 involved prohibited or nontravel purchases, including a golf-club membership and meals connected with lunches or events.
The audit said insufficient oversight and training increased the risk that improper purchases could go undetected. It recommended stronger supervisory review, better supporting documentation, monitoring for automatic approvals and additional training for cardholders and reviewers.
Fayetteville State University agreed with the findings, according to the report, and described plans to provide training, monitor compliance and reinforce documentation and approval requirements.
Because the audit used a nonstatistical sample, the tested results cannot be projected to all university procurement-card transactions. The review also was not designed to identify every possible control weakness or compliance problem.
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Photo Credit: Charles Waddell Chesnutt Library at Fayetteville State University, photographed by LTreadwell via Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Cropped and resized.
Editor’s Note: This article was drafted with the assistance of artificial intelligence and was reviewed and fact-checked by a member of the NC Political News editorial team before publication.