# North Carolina Auditor Flags UNCA Spending Controls

A North Carolina state audit found that University of North Carolina Asheville employees made nearly $48,000 in improperly authorized payment-card purchases or travel expenditures from July 2025 through February 2026. The findings identify procurement-card approval authority and transaction documentation as control risks; UNCA says it is updating its procurement card manual. For public-sector procurement teams, the audit highlights the importance of clear approval procedures and documented exceptions in purchasing and travel programs.

- Public universities can review delegated approval authority, exception handling, and supporting records for procurement-card and travel-card transactions.
- UNCA’s manual update may clarify procedures for employees and approvers; suppliers serving the university should provide the documentation needed to support purchases and travel-related charges.
- The findings point to control risks relevant across the UNC System, but do not establish that the other institutions named in extracted entities had similar findings.

**Jurisdictions:** sled
**Industries:** Education
**Topics:** Regulatory Compliance
**Published:** October 23, 2026

### Government Entities
- North Carolina Office of the State Auditor (OSA)
- University of North Carolina Asheville (UNCA)
- University of North Carolina System (UNC System)

### Key Quotes
> By not consistently managing procurement card and travel card programs, inappropriate, unauthorized, or prohibited purchases may occur and go undetected, increasing the risk of fraud, waste, abuse, and misuse of school resources.
> — Dave Boliek, State Auditor

### Sources
- [State audit flags improperly authorized spending by UNCA employees  | Raleigh News & Observer](https://www.newsobserver.com/news/article317748790.html) - Raleigh News & Observer