Trustees receive positive audit report

Andrew D. Brosig
Posted 10/12/18

Eastern Wyoming College is in a strong financial position, according to an annual audit report presented Tuesday from McGee, Hearne and Paige LLP accountants of Cheyenne.

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Trustees receive positive audit report

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TORRINGTON – Eastern Wyoming College is in a strong financial position, according to an annual audit report presented Tuesday from McGee, Hearne and Paige LLP accountants of Cheyenne.

That’s the bottom line. On top of that line, though, is a required annual checkup of the in-house checks-and-balances to ensure that financial position stays strong.

And, according to the report, all those controls are in place and operating the way they should. 

“That’s a good thing,” said Kwin Wilkes, EWC Vice President for Administrative Services. “Those of us here with the money, we’re all honest people. This helps us maintain that honesty.”

MHP accountant Wayne Herr talked with the board about a situation surrounding the state’s retiree health insurance program, which EWC participates in. The state Governmental Accounting Standards Board has determined there will be a future need for about $790 million to cover retired state employees and the board is divvying up the responsibility for that pool of money among participating entities.

EWC’s projected share of that pot is somewhere north of $10.4 million, Herr said.

Entities “have certain liabilities involved for the future,” he said. “We talked about this coming up, but we didn’t have any idea of what the magnitude would be.”

For now, this is a liability only on paper, Wilkes said. Currently, 0.6 percent of every dollar paid in to the state’s insurance pool in the form of premiums is set aside for that projected liability, which should prove sufficient, he said. 

“This is just the first time we’ve had to put it on the books,” Wilkes said. “It changes our net (financial) position.”

The net position represents the difference between the college’s assets and its liabilities, he said. And there, EWC’s position is still good. The $10.4 million only becomes a potential liability if the college goes out looking for loan funding for projects. But Wilkes isn’t concerned.

“Most of the entities that would look at us would know that’s in there and pull it out,” he said. “It’s a number that’s just on paper.”

Overall, EWC has current and non-current assets totaling more than $65.7 million against liabilities of almost $28.8 million. That leaves the college in a positive net position of almost $36.4 million, according to the report.

During his regular monthly financial report later in the meeting, Wilkes told the board the college has received about $4.3 million, or 49 percent, of its anticipated $8.9 million state allotment for the 2018-19 academic year. Due to cuts in state budgets and funding, and decreased student enrollment, that’s about 12.5 percent less than the $5 million received at this time last year, Wilkes said.

“We just don’t have all these excess funds,” he said. “But, based on what our budget is, we’re in pretty good shape.

“With more money, we would be able to deal with our programs better,” Wilkes said. “But we do the best we can with what we have.”

In other business, the board:

n Received the 10-day enrollment report, showing overall student numbers were down by 26 students in the fall of 2018 compared to fall 2017, a 4.4 percent decrease.

n Heard from Don Appiarius, Vice President of Student Services, the number of student prospects has almost doubled from this time in 2017. Appiarius told the board his office had contact with more than 900 prospective EWC students during college recruitment fairs recently, compared to 477 last year. 

“Although the applications aren’t there yet, we’re starting out well ahead of the game,” he said. “We’re beginning high school visits, which yield more campus visits. If we can get them to campus, the yield (of applications) is high.”

n Accepted the audit report and monthly financial report, and;

n Approved on first reading revisions in language of Board Policies governing Board of Trustee Meetings and the college’s Equal Employment Opportunity Policy Statement.