Northlands College is based in La Ronge, but has several campuses in Northern Saskatchewan. (Derek Cornet/larongeNOW Staff)

By Derek Cornet

education

Provincial auditor flags concerns at Northlands College

Dec 9, 2025 | 3:29 PM

The Provincial Auditor of Saskatchewan believes Northlands College has some work to do when it comes safeguarding public resources.

That’s according to a report published on Tuesday, which states while Northlands College complied with the authorities governing its activities related to financial reporting and safeguarding public resources in 2024–25, it did not make progress on segregating access to its cheque-signing system. Not doing so increases the risk of inappropriate or fraudulent payments going undetected.

In addition, the provincial auditor noted the 2024–25 financial statements are not reliable as Northlands did not properly record $1.8 million in grants it received for child care spaces.

A statement from Northlands College to larongeNOW notes work has been done in the area segregating access to its cheque-signing system.

“This is reported as of June 30, 2025, and reflects the situation at that time,” the statement reads.

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“The College has implemented several changes to address the concern, some of the enhancements were implemented after our year end and not captured in the audit.”

In regards to not properly recording $1.8 million in grants it received for child care spaces, the statement adds the monies were recognized as revenue and this contributed to the annual surplus of $2.7 million recognized by Northlands for the year ending June 30, 2025.

“The College is confident in the accounting treatment of the grant, and this treatment was supported by our auditors,” the statement reads.

“The provincial auditor has indicated the revenue should have been recorded as a deferred revenue and that the annual surplus is thus overstated by $1.8 million. The recommendation is that the College should follow public sector accounting standards when recording government grant revenue. The accounting treatment for government transfers of this nature is outlined in Public Sector Accounting Standard 3410, which is complex and subject to interpretation that leads to some inconsistency in treatment across the country.”

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derek.cornet@pattisonmedia.com