State auditors in Florida have found 21 problem areas at the state’s flagship institution, the University of Florida, according to the St. Petersburg Times. In those areas, the auditors found that the university overspent, failed to follow state procedures, or did not properly document payroll, contracts, or other items.

Steve Orlando, a spokesman for the university, told the newspaper that the institution’s officials had responded to the auditors’ concerns and were working to fix the problems.

He also pointed out a bright side, of sorts: The university doesn’t have as many problems this year as it has had in the past, he said. In 2004, for example, state auditors found 25 problems, according to the article.

News of the critical audit followed a year in which operational problems at another institution in the state, Florida A&M University, have drawn attention.

Earlier this year, some state legislators called for a criminal investigation of the state’s only historically black public university after a preliminary report by the Florida auditor general found $39-million in undocumented expenditures. —Sara Hebel