Internal Controls Initiative

Update: Six teams have completed an assessment of current state. View the Summary of Work to Date.

UW-Madison, like many other universities, finds itself facing a new landscape in higher education. New instructional approaches, groundbreaking research and an emphasis on entrepreneurship drive us to best-in-class status as a university, but also take our administrative complexities to a new level.

Given these shifts, we would be remiss if we didn’t take appropriate steps to implement fiscal best practices, not just meeting current standards, but raising the bar to attain excellence in financial stewardship. Our vision is to be the most effective public university from a business and administrative standpoint.

UW-Madison faculty deserves to know that the foundation supporting their teaching and research is sound, and our staff deserves to know that their good work is protected. Internal controls are the processes and policies by which we can ensure that our resources are secure, our information is accurate and that we remain compliant with laws and regulations.

The outcome of this work; a UW-Madison financial internal controls framework will;

• create timely, reliable and informative processes
• help protect UW-Madison’s reputation, funding and future stability
• allow for allocating maximum resources to mission activities (teaching, research and outreach)
• provide a sound structure to support staff success in an ever-changing environment

This site is intended to provide an overview and resources on initiative activities, as well as information on the process improvement projects that will be launched in appropriate areas.