In one example, an Army cardholder paid $2,394.20 to dig up a pipe near a sinkhole, and coded the purchase as "COVID-19”. Image: Kenishirotie/Shutterstock.com
About a third of government purchase card spending at DoD charged as pandemic-related did not go for that purpose, was inadequately documented or both, an inspector general audit has found.
“These problems occurred because GPC program officials did not conduct required oversight to identify and correct improper or unsupported purchases,” a report said. “Without adequate oversight, DoD cardholders will continue to incorrectly identify or code GPC purchases as being related to contingency operations, not properly support purchases with required documentation, and have increased risk that fraudulent, improper, and other abusive activity could occur without detection.”
It said that in March 2020-January 2022, DoD government purchase card holders made more than 110,000 purchases, valued at more than $240 million, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic for supplies, goods and services. Using those cards keeps purchases below thresholds where more scrutiny of purchases applies, a threshold that was raised for pandemic-related reasons to $20,000 from the standard $10,000, it added.
However, in a sample of 127 such purchases, auditors concluded that 33, “while appearing to be DoD-related, did not support the DoD’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic” and 45 were made without obtaining or maintaining required documentation. Projecting department-wide, it estimated that 36 percent of purchases in that period failed one or both of those standards, representing nearly $87 million.
“For example, according to the DoD’s “COVID-19 Transaction Report” and supporting documentation, an Army cardholder purchased plumbing services for $2,394.20 to dig up a pipe and determine the cause of a sinkhole, then coded the purchase with “COVID-19” in the bank’s transaction management system,” the report said. The reviewing official did not catch that designation, which later was deemed to be an error, it said.
It said DoD similarly blamed undetected errors for a Navy cardholder designating as covid-related the purchase 10 cybersecurity training courses totaling $23,400; for an Air Force cardholder who similarly designated a charge of some $500 for wireless internet services in a building; and for a DoD schools expense of $76 for paint for a middle school student art program.
The audit said that management agreed with recommendations to reemphasize the controls on purchase card spending, including requirements for review.
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