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

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Additional monitoring of the transaction's appropriateness would better ensure transactions are for a clear public purpose describing the legitimate department purpose in the transaction description to clearly demonstration the benefits to the County or its taxpayers. Monitoring is an integral component of internal controls; unmonitored controls tend to deteriorate over time. When monitoring is designed and implemented appropriately, organizations are more likely to identify and correct problems on a timely basis. Ongoing monitoring can occur in the course of daily operations including regular management and supervisory activities. While the County's Department of Finance does review all transactions for procurement and accounting rules, additional monitoring of the transaction's appropriateness could be performed to better ensure transactions are for a legitimate department purpose and clear benefit to the County and taxpayers. Furthermore, providing consolidated clear guidance to all County departments on appropriate information to be included in the transaction description would better enable the AP Division to monitor these transactions. Purchasing Card Program and Procedures should be clarified and departmental training should be provided. The Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) establishes best practices for Purchasing Card Programs. These best practices include written policies and procedures for internal staff as well as ongoing training of cardholders and supervisors. To maintain appropriate controls and comply with best practices, the County of Hawai"i's Department of Finance established "Purchasing Card Program and Procedures" which provides guidance including what constitutes an authorized pCard purchase, restrictions for pCard use, and responsibilities for the pCard Administrator, department pCard coordinators, and cardholders. The County's Purchasing Division disseminates pCard information through purchasing reminders emails, word-of-mouth, and conducting Purchasing Manual training sessions and other training sessions throughout the year. Lack of on-going training and clarity in County policy may cause some departments to use pCards in a manner that could be inappropriate The County last updated the Purchasing Card Program and Procedures in 2013 but did not incorporate additional guidance provided to County employees. For example: Purchasing Card Program :: Audit Results 113