The National College of Art and Design has been sharply criticised by the public spending watchdog for delays in preparing its annual accounts and for failing to comply with procurement guidelines.
In a report, the Comptroller & Auditor General says the college has allowed a situation to develop where the basic requirement of preparing annual financial statements is not being met.
This is despite an earlier warning.
The most recently audited financial statements for the college date from 2010.
The report says NCAD's senior management have not addressed deficiencies or taken mitigating actions on procurement practices, its audit committee and an adequate internal financial control statement.
The college failed to comply with procurement guidelines in 2009, 2010 and 2011.
A review of the effectiveness of the system of internal financial control was not performed by the college's board in any of the five accounting years ending September 2012.
The C&AG also criticises the oversight of the Higher Education Authority which it says should have been more active in remedying some of these issues when they were highlighted by NCAD.
The college has a turnover of €29m, comprising State grants from the HEA and academic fees.
In response to the C&AG report, the National College of Art and Design said it acknowledged there was work to be done on compliance.
It said it undertook to prepare 2011, 2012 and 2013 financial statements in sufficient time so that the audit of these statements can be completed in 2014.
The Higher Education Authority responded by saying it plans, this year, to put in place enhanced processes in relation to its oversight of the annual governance statements and statements of internal control received from the higher education institutions.
In addition, the HEA funding model is being revised to include a performance-related element, which will be linked to the achievement of targets agreed for each higher education institution.
As part of this development, performance funding will take into account institutional compliance with governance requirements and procedures and other statutory requirements.
