2018-01 Performance Audit Report: Cash Handling at County of Hawai'i's Mass Transit Agency

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exceptionally at risk since they are not pre -numbered and therefore, management cannot assess the completeness of the inventory. • Cash is kept in the pencil case in an unlocked desk drawer during the day. Basevard: While money is locked in a safe and a locked closet overnight, both locations are left open and unattended during the day. We observed cash left unattended on the breakroom table, the safe door was ajar, and both doors to the room unlocked. This breakroom is accessible to all Mass Transit staff. (Figure 5) • Several employees have access to locked fare boxes. While these boxes are Example of a fare box Photo courtesy of the Office of the Legislative Auditor Figure 6 easily removed. locked, the rivets holding it together can be easily removed and there is no process to ensure that all fare boxes are accounted for. (Figure 6) Bus's fare boxes are not emptied daily or after each route and may only return to the Baseyard every four days. In addition, when the Account Clerk is unavailable or absent from work, no one empties the bus's fare boxes, sometimes for several days. As a result, some fare boxes arrive at the Baseyard overflowing and unable to automatically lock. Employees then use another fare box to catch the overflow. This increases the risk that money may be lost or stolen and not deposited or recorded timely. While cameras have been installed in the room where cash is counted, we observed key blind spots, the camera and recordings are not regularly monitored, and the employee counting the cash has access to the camera and recordings. Some county -owned vans do not have locking fare boxes. When there is no fare box, a manila envelope or plastic bag is used. Some fare boxes do not lock and can be • The safe combinations and keys have never been changed. Lock combinations and keys should be changed periodically and always when custody changes hands. • There is no receipt log of the cash received from the contracted bus service providers. Physically securing cash and assigning accountability to an individual employee reduces the risk of loss or theft. All employees accepting payments should have a secured, lockable cash drawer and only the employee collecting the payments should have access. If there is more than one person receiving payments at the same time, each person should have their own cash Mass Transit Cash Handling Audit Results 110