Cayuga County - Procurement and Claims Audit (2018M-274)

Issued Date
April 12, 2019

[read complete report - pdf]

Audit Objective

Determine whether County officials procured goods and services in accordance with the procurement policy and statutory requirements.

Determine whether claims were adequately supported and properly audited before payment.

Key Findings

County officials:

  • Did not seek competition for aggregate purchases from nine vendors totaling approximately $746,000 or from 14 professional service providers totaling $2.7 million.
  • Allowed the credit card company to directly withdraw 25 payments totaling $77,615 from the bank account.

The Clerk of the Legislature did not:

  • Audit 26 claims totaling $76,804 before payment and approved 25 claims totaling $50,439 that were not adequately supported.

Key Recommendations

  • Consider the aggregate amount to be expended for the same or similar type of goods or services when determining whether competitive bidding is required and develop procedures for procuring professional services.
  • Ensure all claims are adequately supported and audited before payment.
  • Discontinue allowing third-party access to directly withdraw funds from County bank accounts.

County officials agreed with our recommendations and have initiated or indicated they planned to initiate corrective action.