The Fiscal Control and Internal Auditing Act (FCIAA) is an annual state-mandated certification. The University of Illinois System views this certification as an opportunity to work together to ensure effective fiscal and internal controls are in place to protect system resources, such as employees, assets, and information. As unit heads and fiscal officers are responsible for ensuring the effectiveness of these controls in their respective units and for addressing any weaknesses, this 34-item questionnaire fulfills that requirement.

Your role in the FCIAA certification process is pre-assigned, so when the process begins, you will get a role-specific email to log in to the questionnaire.

Submitter

1. Receive email: You receive an email about FCIAA certification with instructions on logging in.
2. Complete form: You log in to the FCIAA application to complete and submit the form for your unit.
3. Approver reviews form: The Approver (usually your unit head) reviews your unit's form and approves or rejects it.
4. Additional review: There are several additional levels of review which are university-specific.

This is a simplified version of the FCIAA process flow. The most important step in the process is Step 2: Complete form. As the Submitter, it is your job to complete and submit the form for your unit. You are the only person allowed to edit the form.

If the form is rejected at any point in the review process, it will be returned to you for editing.

Approver

1. Receive email: You receive an email that the FCIAA certification process has begun.
2. Submitter completes form: The Submitter logs in to the FCIAA application to complete and submit the form for your unit.
3. Review form: You receive an email that the form has been submitted. You review your unit's form and approve or reject it.
4. Additional review: There are several additional levels of review which are university-specific.

This is a simplified version of the FCIAA process flow. Your step in the process is Step 3: Review form. As the Approver, it is your job to review and approve (or reject) the form for your unit.

If the form is rejected at any point in the approvals process, it will be returned to the Submitter for editing. You will be notified via email that the form has been rejected, but only the Submitter is able to make changes to the form.

System Offices FCIAA Process

1. The Submitter (usually the unit's business manager) completes and submits the FCIAA certification form in the online application.
2. The Approver (usually a unit head) reviews the FCIAA certification form for that unit. The Approver can approve the certification form or reject it back to the Submitter.
3. The Designated Reviewer (usually an assistant VP or executive assistant VP) can review one or more FCIAA certification forms. This user can reject a form back to the Submitter, if needed.
4. The Campus Manager reviews all certification forms for System Offices. The Campus Manager can reject a form back to the Submitter, if needed.
5. The University Manager reviews forms for all universities and System Offices. Any deficiencies are documented, and additional levels of review happen outside the FCIAA application.

The FCIAA Process at each university differs from the above only in the third step.

• UIUC – Chart 1 – has a College/Administrative Group Manager who summarizes results for their college or group and sends it onto the College/Administrative Group Approver who sends it to the Campus Manager and then the University Manager
• UIC – Chart 2 – has a College/Administrative Group Manager who also approves
• UIS – Chart 4 – Submitter to Approver to Campus Manager to University Manager

The questionnaire has 3 sections that cover all 34 questions.

• Asset Management: This section asks about controls for fixed asset equipment.
• Financial Management: This section asks about your unit's financial controls.
• Transactions and General: This section asks about more general controls as well as your unit's transactions.

The statements in this questionnaire describe a variety of fiscal and administrative controls that should be present in the current operating environment within the unit. Include details of any documented fiscal and/or administrative control weaknesses identified by internal/external auditors, consultants, or other agencies when responding:

• Yes – This control is included in the normal operating practices of my unit, and is applied on a consistent basis
• Partial – This control exists in my unit, but may not be applied consistently
• No – This control does not exist for my unit
• N/A – This control is not applicable in my unit

In completing the questionnaire, a "partial" or "no" response to a statement may indicate a weakness in fiscal and/or administrative controls, and hence an opportunity for improvement. Add comments to describe corrective actions in progress at the unit, requests for guidance/assistance, or to communicate information that is important to understanding the responses, to describe the impact and details of documented weakness received from internal/external auditors, consultants, and other agencies.

More detailed descriptions of the items are available in the link online under each question/item, e.g., "Learn more about Question 1."

Select the question/item down arrow to reveal relevant policy links.