The Office of the Utah State Auditor released its Washington County School District Report on Internal Control and Compliance Over Credit Card Use. For the period May 2014 through May 2015, the office reviewed both the WCSD credit card account and an account, held in the name of a business administrator, that is used for WCSD business and paid by the school district.
The Office of the Utah State Auditor identified three findings during its review of the Washington County School District:
—Noncompliance with WCSD credit card policies, such as failing to obtain or document required approvals and price quotes and artificially dividing purchases to avoid obtaining required bids.
—An unusual compensation arrangement allowing the business administrator to steer WCSD purchases through his personal credit card to enhance the rewards earned for personal benefit. The WCSD pays the credit card bill, then the business administrator repays the school district for any personal purchases. This arrangement improperly puts the burden on the WCSD to obtain repayment for personal purchases.
— WCSD funds were used to pay for personal travel expenses that were not reimbursed by four of the seven WCSD employees until five months after the initial expenditure was made and shortly after the Office of the State Board of Education internal auditors began an audit of the WCSD.
The Office of the Utah State Auditor’s report highlights a pattern of weak compliance by WCSD administration. Simultaneously, the Office of the State Board of Education audit report of Enterprise High School (Audit Report 2015-14, February 2016) identifies weaknesses within the WCSD at the school level. Both reports identify opportunities for the school district to improve.
“Accountable organizations create policies and procedures to strengthen operations and improve financial oversight,” said State Auditor John Dougall. “Failure to follow well-structured policies and procedures results in lax oversight and can lead to waste or misuse of taxpayer funds.”
The full report may be found here.
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