The MiraCosta Community College District supports a culture of honesty and a Code of Ethics wherein employees are provided with information to assist them in identifying possible signs of fraud and encourages them to report their suspicions without fear of reprisal. Please reference AP3050 Institutional Code of Ethics for more information.
The following are potential indicators of fraud and occupational fraud which should be reported on the District’s internal fraud hotline at: (800) 860-0597 or to the Risk Management Office, at: (760) 795-6830.
- Inadequate internal controls over assets, e.g. lack of segregation of duties or independent checks, especially in areas such as purchasing, accounts payable, cash handling, and payroll
- Lack of management oversight
- Lack of proper screening and hiring procedures
- Poor physical safeguards over cash; investments, inventory or fixed assets
- Lack of timely reconciliations of bank accounts
- Frequent or no vacations taken by employees performing key control functions
- Inadequate management understanding of information technology, which enables any employees to perpetrate a misappropriation
- Inadequate access controls over automated records, including controls over and review of computer systems event logs
- Conflicts of interest
- Behavior indicating displeasure or dissatisfaction with the District or its treatment of employees
- Changes in behavior or lifestyle that may indicate assets have been misappropriated
- Management override of internal controls
- Management repeated failure to react to employee misconduct
- Theft
- Workers’ Compensation fraud
- Questionable accounting practices
Any one of these outside agencies may also be contacted:
- The State Auditor’s Whistle Blower Hotline at (800) 952-5665
- Investigations, Bureau of State Audits, California State Auditor, 621 Capital Mall #1200, Sacramento, CA 95814
- State of California Department of Insurance Fraud Division, (858) 693-7100, 110021 Willow Creek Road, Suite 100, San Diego, CA 92131
- WeTip Corporate Ethics Hotline, (800) 873-7283, P.O. Box 1296, Rancho Cucamonga, CA 91730.
- www.wetip.com
The Risk Management shall receive all reports of fraud. As needed, an ad hoc team will be formed of knowledgeable individuals to investigate all reports of suspected fraud. The reporting individual(s) name(s) will not be divulged unless and until legal proceedings are initiated. The team’s findings will be reported to the superintendent/president and/or the president of the board of trustees.
