Financial Reporting and Whistleblower Protection Policy

Lewis & Clark College has a deep commitment to responsible stewardship of its financial resources and accountability for the public and private support that enables the College to pursue its mission. Lewis & Clark is committed to compliance with the laws and regulations to which it is subject, and to promulgate College policies and procedures to interpret and apply these laws and regulations in the College setting.

Lewis & Clark’s internal controls and operating procedures are intended to identify and to prevent mistakes, and to detect and deter improper activities. However, while the College has adopted safeguards, intentional and unintentional violations of laws, regulations, policies and procedures may occur.

It is important for all College employees, students, parents, alumni, and other individuals to feel free to report facts which may indicate that a law, regulation or policy has been violated without fear of any form of reprisal or retaliation. To ensure unfettered, good faith reporting it is the policy of the College that no one who, in good faith, reports a suspected violation of law, policy or procedure will suffer any form of retaliation, or any adverse employment, academic or educational consequence on account of such report. It is the intention of the College to take whatever action may be necessary to prevent and/or correct violations of this policy.

Any person who wishes to report suspected violations may do so by several different means. It is always recommended that reports be written. Written reports may be submitted to the appropriate vice president or dean with reporting authority over the area of concern.

The College has also created an anonymous reporting mechanism. Federal law changed in the last decade to require publicly traded companies to adopt certain financial controls. One such control is the establishment of an anonymous “whistleblower” reporting mechanism to allow employees or others to anonymously report financial problems to management or board members. While this federal law does not apply to the College or other nonprofits, the establishment of an anonymous mechanism for reporting has been recommended as a “best practice” for nonprofits such as the College by the National Association of College and University Business Officers. The Audit Committee of our Board of Trustees and Executive Council of the College agree with this recommendation.

If an individual wishes to make an anonymous report, instructions regarding the types of issues that may be reported anonymously and the procedures for making such a report may be found online here

Approval Date

Approved by the Executive Officers, August 2, 2006