Operational Auditing in US Colleges and Universities

Based on a survey of US colleges and universities and reports the scope of operational auditing in these institutions. As a part of this study two hypotheses are formulated and tested to determine whether: (1) the scope of operational auditing differs between private and public institutions; and (2) the perceived importance of audit areas differs between auditors working for private schools and those serving public institutions. Concludes that most colleges and universities which participated in the survey utilize operational auditing to some degree. However, this utilization is rather limited in scope. Further concludes that no significant difference exists between the scope of operational auditing and the type of institution. Furthermore, the hypothesis of no significant difference in perceived importance of audit areas between the two groups of auditors cannot be rejected.