The UC Board of Regents met on Tuesday at the UCSF Mission Bay campus to discuss systemwide auditing, the development of a shared IT governance model and managing youth activities, commencing the first of three days of meetings this week.
Following a closed session of the Committee on Compliance and Audit and a public comment session, members of the committee reviewed plans for selecting a new external auditor for the university.
A search committee composed of UC representatives in finance, accounting and IT is responsible for evaluating firms and selecting a leading candidate for approval by the regents. The committee is expected to issue requests for proposals to various firms in March.
Regent Charlene Zettel, chair of the Committee on Compliance and Audit, encouraged members of the board to actively participate in the selection process.
“I think it is really important that the regents do get a little more involved in the process than just having someone presented to us,” Zettel said. “I want the appointment to be a Board of Regents appointment.”
The new external auditor will begin serving in the fiscal year ending June 30, 2014, when the contract with current auditor PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP terminates.
Later in the meeting, the committee discussed proposals for a shared governance model for systemwide IT services. Executive Vice President for Business Operations Nathan Brostrom presented a plan that would involve the establishment of a single executive committee focusing on a strategic direction for all IT services.
According to interim CIO and Chief Strategy Officer for ITS Mark Cianca, the UC system will look to institutions with an implemented governance model as an important resource.
“The challenge is that we have campuses that historically have had independent abilities to make decisions without a lot of collaboration and consultation with other campuses,” Cianca said. “This is new behavior for the campuses.”
The board also reviewed the development of training programs targeted toward UC personnel working with youth. These measures were developed as part of the university’s recent efforts to update its ethics and compliance policies as a result of the child abuse scandal involving former Pennsylvania State University assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky.
The Office of Ethics, Compliance and Audit Services is formulating campus-specific programs for personnel working in areas identified as needing immediate training, according to Enterprise Risk Management Deputy and Director of Liability Programs Cheryl Lloyd.
