PEER Report #252

A REVIEW OF CASH MANAGEMENT POLICIES, PROCEDURES AND PRACTICES OF MISSISSIPPI’S INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER LEARNING, November 20, 1990, 41 pages

Cash management responsibilities of the entities of the Board of Trustees, Institutions of Higher Learning (IHL) are much greater than most state agencies’ because most IHL funding remains outside of the Treasury after collection. Because the IHL board has not exercised oversight over university cash management practices, numerous instances of ineffective cash management have occurred.

• Eleven university officials and two IHL board members with direct or indirect cash management responsibilities also had financial interests in financial institutions with which their respective universities or offices were doing business.
• Four institutions and the IHL central office have not contracted with depositories as required by state law.
• Four institutions do not have formal cash management/investment policies and procedures.
• Five institutions do not obtain competitive bids on certificates of deposit, and five institutions solicit banking services based on public relations concerns rather than effectiveness and efficiency concerns.
• Five institutions did not adequately monitor collateral pledged by financial institutions to cover deposits in excess of federal insurance limits during fiscal year 1989.

As of June 30, 1989, over seventy-eight percent of endowments on behalf of Mississippi universities were held by private foundations and administered primarily by university officials with no state oversight.

For a paper copy of this report, contact PEER by telephone at 601-359-1226 or by e-mail at reports@peer.ms.gov.