Texas Southern University faces significant financial and asset-management weaknesses, according to a state audit released this week that examined the school’s finances and accounting across multiple fiscal years. The audit also scrutinized Texas Southern University’s financial reporting process for fiscal years 2023 and 2024.
In response to the findings, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick called the audit “beyond disturbing,” and said his office, Gov. Greg Abbott, and House Speaker Dustin Burrows have ended Texas Southern University spending on contracts other than ongoing university expenses needed to keep the school open.
Patrick said he previously requested a Texas Rangers investigation into potential criminal wrongdoing at Texas Southern University, and that the probe is continuing. In a post on X, Patrick wrote, “It is my hope, for the sake of the students at the university, that TSU can continue,” adding that “TSU is solely responsible for this fiasco. If TSU does not remedy the situation, the legislature will.”
The state audit found problems with Texas Southern University vendor contracting and recordkeeping. It said records for 97% of the 60 vendors the auditor checked did not match corresponding contract documentation, and that inaccuracies were present throughout the contract data the audit reviewed.
The audit also reported weaknesses in inventory practices. It said there was a complete lack of a regular physical inventory procedure, noting that the last time an annual inventory of the university’s physical assets was conducted was in 2019, and it quoted the audit language: “Significant deficiencies in the University’s asset management functions prevented it from accurately accounting for and protecting its assets.”
In addition, the audit described frequently late and inaccurate financial reporting, including reports that reached the state comptroller’s office nearly a year late in 2023. It also said Texas Southern University failed to shore up budget accounts to reflect staffing shortages.
TSU President J.W. Crawford III responded in a Dec. 22 letter addressed to State Auditor Lisa Collier, laying out a set of remedies the university says it has taken and stating its commitment to correcting the deficiencies. Crawford wrote, “The University is committed to remediating the findings by the State Auditor’s Office,” and “As an institution, we are implementing initiatives to improve and strengthen processes and internal controls across all areas of our operations, both financially and operationally.”
In the letter, Crawford said about 200 vacancies, including in key positions such as the information technology department, exacerbated financial-oversight problems since the university’s last audit was completed in 2006. He said those vacancies “fostered longstanding structural weaknesses that have had cascading effects over the intervening years, driving operational vulnerabilities and contributing significantly to the deficiencies identified in the audit.”
Patrick said Crawford agrees with the audit findings and has been working with the state auditor’s office to address them. Texas Southern University later released a statement saying it is “deeply appreciative for and highly values the work of the Texas State Auditor’s Office,” and said it “has adopted all SAO recommendations” and “concurs with the Auditor regarding the importance of predictable regularity of financial operations and timely, repeatable processes.”
Before this full audit, the state auditor’s office released preliminary findings in November, including that more than 700 invoices totaling more than $280 million were tied to vendors whose contracts had expired in the contract database. The preliminary findings also said more than 800 invoices worth nearly $160 million were dated before purchases were officially requested or approved.
The audit comes as Texas Southern University—an institution in Houston with an enrollment of about 8,000 students—has had long-running financial and management difficulties, according to the reporting. The story also noted that a review in 1999 produced a list of 124 recommendations delivered to then-Gov. George W. Bush and then-Lt. Gov. Rick Perry, and it referenced earlier episodes involving the university, including charges filed in 2006 against former president Priscilla Slade and other scandals described in the account.