University of North Carolina Asheville employees made nearly $48,000 in improperly authorized purchases using university-issued payment cards over the last fiscal year, according to an Oct. 21 report issued by the N.C. Office of the State Auditor.
State government’s fiscal watchdog found that, between July 2025 and February 2026, UNCA staff spent $23,044 on purchases prohibited by university policy. Spending included $10,602 on employee cell phone service, $4,450 on alcohol for university events, $5,299 for legal services, and $2,693 for technology. Another $24,922 in travel spending lacked the required supporting documents.
“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,” wrote State Auditor Dave Boliek, in a letter transmitting the report to state government and UNCA officials. Boliek’s office did not respond to an email request for further comment on the report.
Bruce Barker, who was named UNCA’s chief operating officer and vice chancellor for budget and finance in July, defended the university’s spending in a statement to the Citizen Times. He wrote that all of the transactions were for legitimate business purposes and that no state funds were spent on the legal fees or alcohol purchases flagged in the report. Using payment cards, he continued, boosts the university’s operational efficiency and reduces administrative costs.
“While the University stands by these decisions, we acknowledge that our written Procurement Card Manual did not explicitly establish the authority and procedures for granting certain exceptions. We are updating the manual to clarify exception authority and documentation requirements consistent with applicable policies,” Barker wrote.
UNCA did not respond to questions about the specific business purposes of the legal and alcohol spending identified by Boliek’s office. The university also did not share details about any disciplinary action that may be taken against employees involved in the transactions.
The state’s audit of UNCA appears to be part of a broader campaign investigating the UNC System’s payment card policies, rather than unique scrutiny of the school. Boliek released an audit of a different institution each day Oct. 19 through Oct. 22, including North Carolina Central University, the UNC School of the Arts, and Fayetteville State University.
In each case, the auditor’s report read that the audit “was initiated due to identified risks from internal audit reports, previous financial and investigative work by OSA, and in response to regulation adopted by the UNC System President on university procurement and purchasing card programs.”
Of the schools audited so far, UNCA had the smallest amount of problematic spending. Boliek’s office reported the most substantial issues at NC Central University. As previously reported by The Assembly, staff at the Durham school made nearly $236,000 in improperly authorized purchases over the audit period.
Daniel Walton is the City Government Watchdog Reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times. Email him at dwalton@citizentimes.com, and connect with him on social media through Facebook, Instagram, or Reddit.
This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: State audit flags improperly authorized spending by UNCA employees
