Purpose of Audit

The purpose of our audit was to evaluate the effectiveness of the procurement process for the period July 1, 2014 through December 22, 2015.

Background

The Ulster Board of Cooperative Educational Services is an association of eight component school districts. BOCES is governed by an 11-member Board of Education elected by the boards of the component districts. Budgeted appropriations for the 2015-16 fiscal year totaled approximately $51.5 million.

Key Finding

• BOCES’ policy or procurement guidelines do not require the use of competition, such as requests for proposals, in procuring professional services.

Key Recommendation

• Revise its policy to require the use of an RFP process or other appropriate method of soliciting competition in the procurement of all professional services.