Board of Trustees offers hotline for employees to report fraudulent behavior
Central Michigan University’s Board of Trustees Audit Committee offers employees a confidential ethics hotline to report suspected fraudulent activities in the workplace.
EthicsPoint is a third-party provider hired by the university to field concerns of employees regarding fraudulent behavior. Employees can submit concerns via EthicPoint’s toll-free hotline or secure website. Each submission will be processed by an EthicsPoint employee and sent through a secure web link to Internal Audit at CMU.
CMU has provided this service to faculty, staff and student employees since fall 2006 and is free to the reporting employee, but not to the university.
“The cost, which the Internal Audit Department has funded since 2006, is currently $4,500 per year based off of the number of claims that are reported to EthicsPoint,” Internal Audit Director Michael Roethlisberger said in an email.
The employee reporting the activity is not allowed to talk about or engage in the investigation any further unless asked by those investigating the case. The rest of the investigation is led by Roethlisberger.
University President George Ross, Provost Gary Shapiro, Vice President for Finance and Administrative Services David Burdette and the finance and personnel committee of the Board of Trustees may be involved in investigations, depending on the case. A report is then created for each investigation.
CMU’s Fraud and Fraudulent Activities Policy states reports must include “subject of the investigation; statement of non-compliance with policy, plan, procedure, law or regulation; description of acts or practices discovered; statements of witnesses; amount and type of loss, the means used to perpetrate the fraud; appropriate documentation; and other data considered necessary.”
The report also includes actions that will be taken to prevent a reoccurrence.
The Office of the General Counsel keeps files and materials related to the case until the material is no longer needed.
Other universities utilize programs like EthicsPoint to offer employees an opportunity to report fraud.
“Currently, only Western Michigan University, Michigan Technical University and Central Michigan University use EthicsPoint in Michigan,” Roethlisberger said.
Michigan State University and University of Michigan use a similar system, while Oakland University, Northern Michigan University and Wayne State University use an in-house reporting mechanism that is usually handled by their Internal Audit Department.
Grand Valley State University, Saginaw Valley State University, Ferris State University and Lake Superior State University do not have an Internal Audit Shop, so they do not have a website for such reports.
The University’s Board of Trustees’ Audit Committee supports the Internal Audit and EthicsPoint’s service and dedication to ensure a proper management in all levels of workplaces at CMU.
“This (system) reinforces integrity, a core university value,” Roethlisberger said.
