With cost-cutting measures already being implored by UK, one department failed to get the message.

During the random internal investigation of around 20 departments, UK auditors found the misuse of more than $20,000 in the College of Pharmacy, according to a Thursday Kernel article. Because of that, four employees were fired.

The department in question offers continuing education courses for doctors and professionals in the College of Pharmacy and College of Medicine who must learn the latest practices in the fields, according to the Kernel article. UK was quick to point out, though, that the undocumented funds came from symposiums and course fees and that the continuing education department is self-sufficient.

While this is good news for students, it could still be a serious problem. With the current state of the economy, everyone should be more responsible with their spending. That doesn’t mean dropping $2,052 on alcohol during a three-day trip to Las Vegas or a $1,440 holiday dinner at Malone’s. That money could have surely been spent elsewhere to better the department.

“Our internal auditing department is very good at what they do,” UK spokesman Jimmy Stanton said. “They are extremely thorough. If there is a misuse of funds, this department is going to catch it.”

Though Stanton said the audits rarely find anything more than bookkeeping errors, this kind of investigation into each department could yield similar results. He also said the university is always looking to cut costs, but they would not be increasing the number of audits to look for wasteful spending, according to the Kernel article.

While UK is continually looking into the spending of each department, maybe more in-depth investigations should be completed for each college on campus.

If this kind of spending power is being abused in one department at the university, it isn’t a stretch to think it may be happening elsewhere. An increase in the number of thorough audits could curb this spending and catch the other possible abuses of funds.