Out of 787 cards sampled - 426 were not monitored. Image: Neo Arts/Shutterstock.com
By: FEDweek StaffAn inspector general audit has called on DHS to tighten controls over purchase cards and fleet cards issued to employees after finding widespread “issues in one or more key internal control areas, such as documenting the determination of procurement needs, decision authority, and oversight activities.”
“Without adherence to established policies and procedures, there is an increased risk of material loss and vulnerability to fraud,” said the report which was limited to a review of procedures at three DHS components and did not look into possible specific misspending.
It said that of the 787 cards sampled, 727 did not document varied levels of decision authority required to ensure spending limits are established based on procurement need; and for 426, the components did not conduct monitoring activities such as assessing spending patterns.
The report blamed “various changes in key management roles, outdated policies, component-level interpretation of guidance, and non-retention and inconsistent storage of supporting documents.” In the latter category, for example, it found that some records “were inadvertently destroyed while purging older financial documents and that others did not transfer from an older banking system to a newer one.
It said that management agreed with recommendations to update policies, beef up monitoring of card use, and provide refresher training for key program approving officials, cardholders, and supporting staff.
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