2015-01 Performance Audit Report: County of Hawai'i's Purchasing Card (pCard) Program

Home

Other Questionable Transactions Purchase Amount Airfare for Basic Image's youth representative to participate in Surfing America USA Championship competition $ 1,270.60 Helicopter ride for an affiliate of the US Conference of Mayors and family $ 652.40 Alcohol purchased for the Hawai'i State Legislators as a gift (omiyage) $ 348.03 Total $2,271.03 Airfare for Youth Representative The County paid $1,270.60 in airfare for a non -County employee to attend the Surfing America USA Championship competition in California. The Mayor's Office stated that the non -County employee was a "youth ambassador" who participated in the competition. However, the Mayor's Office could not demonstrate how the youth ambassador was selected or that there was any official recognition upon return. Therefore, we were unable to determine a clear public purpose or benefit to the county. In addition, the ticket was purchased one day prior to travel through a web -based airline ticket provider. The County's Purchasing Manual Section 5.1.5 requires County departments to obtain three written quotes for the purchase of airfare greater than $1,000. The Mayor's department was unable to demonstrate it had complied with this policy by obtaining three quotes. Furthermore, County policy (Memorandum 04-9 (May 25, 2004)) requires any County department, agency, or office who anticipates incurring an expenditure requiring approval as required by Section 2-98 of the County Code to complete a Request for Adjustments and Exceptions (RAE) form which is then approved by the Director of Finance. Section 2-98(b) of the County Code allows the mayor or council chairperson to disallow or authorize certain expenses. In addition, the County's Purchasing Manual Section 5.1.6 requires purchases of goods and services that are unique and not typical to the general purpose of the department, to complete an RAE and obtain written approval from the Director of Finance. Although the Mayor's Office indicated they had received verbal approval from the Mayor, the required form or written approval by the Finance Director was not provided. Helicopter Ride The County paid $652.40 for a four -passenger volcanos and waterfalls helicopter tour for an affiliate of the US Conference of Mayors (USCM) and his family. While a County benefit may be derived from providing this ride to an affiliate of the USCM, the benefit of the cost of the family, as well as public perception from a reasonable person standpoint, is questionable. The required RAE form and written approval by the Finance Director was not provided. Purchasing Card Program :: Audit Results 18