The Challenge

The University appointed TIAA as an external adviser to investigate allegations against a current employee.

Three employees had raised complaints about a student who was also employed by the University, including allegations of falsified stipend claims and timesheets. HR asked for a fraud-focused investigation and advice on whether disciplinary action was warranted.

The objectives of the project were:

TIAA acted as Investigating Officer under the University’s Disciplinary Procedure, focusing on:

  • Whether the timesheets showed evidence of fraudulent claims.
  • Whether stipend and payment claims complied with contract terms and University policy.
  • Whether the approving manager knew about the arrangements and whether they reflected accepted practice.

We also advised whether the concerns should be upheld and, if so, whether the case should proceed to a disciplinary hearing.

Conclusion and outcomes

The review found that fraudulent stipend claims could not be upheld. However, it raised questions about whether the employee had acted openly and transparently.

Because monitoring and attendance records were limited, it was not possible to confirm whether any claims in scope were incorrect. The fraud concern was therefore not upheld.

Although no fraud case was established, we made control improvement recommendations to reduce future risk.