Research@UIC > Conflict of Commitment and Interest > Enterprise-Wide Conflict of Interest Audit

University of Illinois Enterprise-Wide Conflict of Interest Audit

Some UIC-Related Audit Report Key Points (Summer 2009)

Audit Opinion: Needs Improvement. Given the nature of the risks involved in the achievement of the unit’s objectives, controls reviewed were generally adequate, but some corrective action is needed to help ensure compliance with applicable regulations, policies and procedures, and good business practice.

RNUA testing revealed some things to work on now:

Joint reviews (when people hold more than one paid appointment across multiple departments) are not consistently done
Preparation errors (employees provide incomplete responses, do not provide explanatory statements, present vague information) and failure to disclose all activities as required
Review errors (improper delegation of review, missing review, lack of management when reviewer indicated a conflict existed)
Checklist/Processing errors (not signed by appropriate individual, improper delegation, failure to have all employees complete the form)

Things on the horizon:

Closer links with OBFS (University-wide)
Additional training
Re-visiting current COI-related policies and revise as appropriate (University-wide)
Increasing consistency across campuses as appropriate
Increasing departmental involvement with protocol-specific conflict management
Revise RNUA process and documents as needed to help address weaknesses
And more….

Implementation Timeline: July 1, 2011.

Vice President for Academic Affairs Meena Rao has convened a group to respond to the audit’s findings and recommendations. Corrective actions will be implemented over the next two years, targeting completion by the date listed above.