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

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Introduction The Office of the Legislative Auditor conducted this performance audit of County of Hawai`i's Mass Transit Agency's (Mass Transit) cash handling process pursuant to Section 3-18 of the Hawaii County Charter, which outlines the Office of the Legislative Auditor's primary duties. Performance audits typically examine the effectiveness, economy, or efficiency of a government program. They can include analyzing the services of an entire department or activity, identifying possible cost savings, identifying the outcomes achieved by a program, or comparing actual department practices against the practices called for in law or policy. Our objective in performance auditing is to improve public services provided by county government. We do this by recommending specific actions that will address the issues we raise and by providing valuable information to the public, the administration, program leadership, the Hawai'i County Council, and the Mayor. A performance audit of the Mass Transit cash handling process was included in the fiscal year 2017-2018 annual audit plan based on the results of our countywide risk assessment. The Hawaii County Council also passed Resolution 218-17 (June 23, 2017) requesting an audit of Mass Transit's cash handling procedures. There are inherent risks associated with the implementation of the cash handling processes. If no internal controls exist, or if they exist but are not enforced, the risks related to the process increases, thereby increasing the risk exposure to the County. On a national level, employee misappropriation of cash is the most common type of fraud. According to the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners' (ACFE) 2014 Report to the Nations on Occupational Fraud and Abuse, organizations lose five percent of revenues to fraud each year.' "The most common employee occupational frauds of misappropriation of cash include: check tampering, revenue skimming, fraudulent disbursements by fake invoicing, payroll schemes, and billing scams .112 In April 2016, Mass Transit experienced a break-in where several buckets of cash were stolen. The Office of the Legislative Auditor determined that a thorough examination of cash handling policies, procedures, and processes was warranted. 1 "The Cost of FRAUD". ACFE.com. https://www.acfe.com/rttn/images/cost-of-fraud-infographic.pdf (accessed June 30, 2016). Z "Guarding Against Internal Frauds Committed by Employees". Bizfilings.com. https://www.bizfilings.com/toolkit/research-topics/running-vour-business/fraud-protection/guarding-against- internal-frauds-committed-by-employees (accessed April 3, 2018). Mass Transit Cash Handling Introduction I 1