WestConn Audit Flags Contract Lapse Tied to $6.38 Million Service Agreement

DANBURY, Conn. — A newly released Connecticut state audit found that Western Connecticut State University lacked a fully executed contract for portions of two fiscal years connected to a purchase-of-service agreement totaling $6,378,084.

The audit, issued October 8 by the Connecticut Auditors of Public Accounts, reviewed WCSU's operations for fiscal years 2022 and 2023. Auditors reported that the contract for fiscal year 2023 was executed one week after its contract period had ended. The same contract for the prior fiscal year was executed two weeks before that period ended. The auditors concluded that, in essence, the university lacked an executed contract for two fiscal years.

The $6.38 million figure is the total value of the service contract cited in the audit. The report does not say that this amount was stolen, lost, or improperly spent. Instead, auditors said that contracts not properly executed on time weaken purchasing controls and increase the risk of vendor noncompliance, misunderstandings, and financial disputes over services.

The contract lapse was part of a broader procurement finding. In a sample of 20 non-payroll expenditures totaling about $2.08 million, auditors also found purchase orders approved after invoices, missing or unsigned authorizations, two contracts not on file, and a required ethics certification missing from another contract.

The audit identified 12 recommendations overall, nine of which had been repeated from the previous audit. The procurement finding had been reported in part in the two prior audits covering fiscal years 2018 through 2021. In a separate finding, auditors again cited weaknesses in purchasing-card controls, an issue they said had appeared in the university's last six audits covering fiscal years 2009 through 2021.

WCSU agreed with the procurement finding. In its response, the university said it would reinforce purchasing approval requirements, create a centralized contract repository, require fully executed contracts before authorizing covered purchases, and use a contract-expiration tracking system with alerts to support timely renewals.

The findings concern the university's contract and purchasing procedures. The audit does not allege criminal conduct in connection with the $6.38 million agreement.